


First Steps (are always the hardest)

by Another_Star_In_The_Sky



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Bromance, Denial of Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, M/M, Onewe cameo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Supportive Members, Youngjo being a panicked gay, non-au, sassy Dongju
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 49,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21974851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Another_Star_In_The_Sky/pseuds/Another_Star_In_The_Sky
Summary: Youngjo's eyes snap open when he realized who was sitting on the edge of his bed. He saw Hwanwoong's eyes grow in surprise at his sudden movement before a small smile found its way on the dancer’s face. Youngjo raised a hand to stifle his yawn before propping himself up on his elbow to get on eye level with the younger man.“What did he say?"Summary: Youngjo is catching himself being drawn in by one of his members, their main dancer being center to most of his thoughts. Youngjo is sure he does not have anything more than the normal amount of affection for the younger. When Keonhee and Geonhak tell him to finally confess Youngjo is more than confused. What should he confess and how did they come up with the idea he had feelings for Yeo Hwanwoong?[NEW CHAPTER!!! -->; Chapter 5 is actually a new chapter!][FIRST CHAPTER NOW PROOFREAD!]
Relationships: Kim Youngjo | Ravn/Yeo Hwanwoong
Comments: 21
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is my first Oneus fanfiction. This is also the first 'longer' fanfic that I'll write. A short explanation, I switch with the stage and their real names. Stage Names for work and real names when they are in private. Don't ask me why, I just liked the idea haha. I really hope you enjoy this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, this is my first Oneus fanfiction. This is also the first "longer" fanfiction that I'm working on. A short explanation; I switch with the stage name and their real names. Stage names for work, real names when they are in private. I hope you really enjoy this story.
> 
> [THIS CHAPTER IS NOW PROOFREAD!]

“Ya, Ravn-hyung!

“Hyung!”

Ravn stumbled a bit forward and blinked in confusion as a shoulder shoved him from behind. He turned around, only to see Leedo walking past with a scowl on his face. Not really fazed by the ya anymore, as their maknae line was never really on the polite side, Ravn shot their maknae a questioning look.

The latter sat on the other side of the waiting room and had seemed to watch him and Leedo. Xion cocked an eyebrow as their eyes met and Ravn silently pointed at Leedo, shrugging his shoulders as if to ask what he had done wrong to cause the other rapper to lose his temper. The said rapper was now flopping down on Keonhee's lap, who huffed in protest and tried to shove the other off with little success.

Xion rolled his eyes, confusing Ravn even more, as he stood up and walked over to him. They were currently in the waiting room of a broadcasting program while waiting for the second performance of their title track.

“He called you like five times, Hyung. His patience must have run out, but to be honest, mine would have been at this point too. You just stared in the air and completely ignored him. I thought he would start throwing a water bottle or Seoho-hyung at you.”

Oh.

Well, that explained a lot.

Leedo tends to get easily offended when not being paid attention. Or maybe he was just terrible at listening? He should apologize as soon as he gets the chance.

Ravn did not notice how Xion took a swift step forward, skillfully avoiding Seoho's hand who tried to slap him for his comment, too caught up in his thoughts again. He also didn't notice how Xion rolled his eyes at him before giving him his trademark judging look when he realized Ravn had started daydreaming, being oblivious to anything else again.  
  
  


Xion was not completely wrong with the daydreaming, but Ravn had to correct him at some point. He is spacing out. And yes, he was not going to deny that, but he had not stared blindly into the air.

He had stared at someone, a certain someone who was now stretching, just a few steps in front of him to be exact.

“ _Not that anyone needed to know that_ ,” thought Ravn and rubbed his neck, wondering if anyone else felt as hot as he did right now. Maybe the AC was running a bit higher than usual today.

He ignored the raised eyebrow Xion was giving him from the side. Ravn looked around. He needed a fan or anything to cool down: it was seriously way too hot in the waiting room.

“Oneus, you have twenty minutes left.”

Their manager nodded at the staff, who announced the time before shooting them all together to get dressed. Their make-up got finished with Seoho being the last to get dolled up, and they quickly changed into their costumes, giving Ravn time to collect his thoughts and regain his focus.

As he finished slipping into his jacket, he took a few seconds to admire his outfit. He posed in front of a mirror, satisfied with what the reflection was showing. Ravn was pretty fond of their new outfits for this comeback. They were more colorful than the previous ones, which had a more fantasy-like and mysterious concept. He, himself was usually keen on wearing dark and anti-chromatic clothes in his free time, but for their performances, this was a nice change. He was proud and excited to present their ToMoons a new and different side of them. Hoping their fans will enjoy it, just as much as he did.

What brought him even more joy, was the sight of a certain main dancer, who's brightly colored hair looked way too pretty on him. Ravn wasn't exactly sure how to describe the dancer’s new hair color.

Sometimes, it looks like a dark gray with a purple like shimmer, for example, during their music video shooting for LIT. But now, (a) several days later, the color has washed out and left a light mix between gray and blond. Nothing Ravn could put into words. But he didn't need to, the only thing that mattered was that Hwanwoong looks really sex—pretty, he looks gorgeous with it. And Youngjo is convinced ToMoons will like it too.

He found himself staring at the boy in front of him, who was now stretching his legs before jumping lightly to warm up for the upcoming performance. He couldn't help himself to watch the other closely, as the smaller man let a delicate hand run through the soft strands. Ravn wasn't sure if they were really soft, it was not like he had been touching Hwanwoong's hair. But he just assumed by its look that they would have to be incredibly soft—which had gotten a bit messed up.

Hwanwoong, being completely unaware of the dark pair of eyes watching his every move, he looked at himself in the dressing mirror and continued getting the few stray strands back into their place. After some more minutes of trying to fix his hair, he called for one of their stylists who quickly helped him out.

“Five minutes left!”

They left the waiting room and quickly got in position behind the stage. Seoho and Keonhee quietly went through their lines as Leedo and Xion helped each other putting their microphones on, which left Ravn and Hwanwoong alone with each other.

“Hyung, can you help me please?”

Ravn turned to Hwanwoong, who had trouble with the wire of his microphone. At some point, it got caught in his outfit. He was holding it in an awkward angle to prevent it from getting tangled further, with a sheepish grin on his face. Ravn felt his chest ache at this sight. How could the boy in front of him be so adorable by just being clumsy?

“ _Adorable...”_

“ _Wait, what?”_

Ravn blushes at his thoughts, feeling embarrassed. He tries to concentrate on getting the wire back in place. While helping Hwanwoong, who is standing completely still to prevent getting in the way, Ravn quickly fixed the problem and straightened Hwanwoong's clothes after he had finished.

He let his hands slide over the dancer’s small shoulders, to flatten the fabric of the vibrant colored jacket before carefully trying to fix his hair. As Hwanwoong stifled a giggle, Ravn threw a questioning look at him.

“Hyung, you don't have to fix my hair, there was nothing wrong with it, to begin with. I know it's pretty but you can touch it later, we have a performance now.”

Hwanwoong slapped his chest playfully, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Ravn swore that whoever turned the AC higher in the studio, should turn it off-- or lower the heat or he would melt into a puddle.

It wasn't new for his members to randomly flirt with each other, Hwanwoong being the biggest flirt of them all. But this time it affected Ravn more than he liked to admit. It also did not help that Hwanwoong was standing incredible close in front of him. He looked up to him with a playful gleam in his eyes and a grin plastered on his face.

Ravn let out a small cough in embarrassment and quickly stopped touching Hwanwoong's hair. The latter laid his hand on Ravn's smaller back and guided him towards the stage, a smile still playing on his lips.

Their performance went by without any problems or mistakes from the other members, but Ravn caught himself being distracted more than once by Hwanwoong. His eyes continued to wander from the audience towards the dancer in front of him. At the beginning of the second verse, where Xion's part begun, he and Hwanwoong were facing each other, and Ravn felt the blood rush into his face.

They often talk about how charismatic Hwanwoong gets when they are performing and joke about how his expression was too much for ToMoons to handle. But now that this fierce gaze is on him, Ravn felt himself getting lost in Hwanwoong's eyes. Just before they were about to get into the next position, Ravn could swear he saw Hwanwoong winking at him, and it threw him completely out of track.

_“How do ToMoons stand this?”,_ was all he could think of as he quickly went into the next position- hoping that no one noticed that he was a little late on the movement. For the rest of the performance, Ravn had a difficult time concentrating on the audience and the cameras. The rest of their stage went on smoothly, but Ravn couldn't help but feel frustrated with himself.  
  
  


He sighed before taking a gulp of water as he sat on a bench and waited for the others to gather.

They monitored the performance and Ravn winced inwardly as he saw his mistake. It was minor and nothing you spotted without paying close attention to him, but their main dancer caught it nevertheless. What only shed Youngjo's frustration, was the fact he doesn't know if he imaged Hwanwoong winking at him or not. And even if he had winked at him, why did it had to affect him like that?  
  
  


“You're a little late here Hyung.”

Ravn flinched when he noticed how close Hwanwoong was standing next to him. He hadn't noticed that Hwanwoong was standing behind him, monitoring the performance while looking over his shoulder. Right now, the dancer looked down at him, and the smaller man must have misunderstood his movement. The next moment, Ravn was pulled into a side hug, pressed against the dancer’s hip while Hwanwoong patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“It's okay Hyung, mistakes like these can happen. I am sure no one noticed it anyway. We can work on it if you feel like you need more practice on that part tho.”

It was like all of his frustration vanished on the spot.

Ravn was sure his heart could jump out at Hwanwoong's warm smile and words. When did he even start to feel like this? He unknowingly leaned against the smaller boy’s body and let the other comfort him as if he wasn't the reason why Ravn was troubled in the first place.

A finger poked his cheek. Ravn's eyes met Hwanwoong’s, who was presenting him with a bright grin.

“Smile Hyung. We can go home and rest now. There is no reason to frown like that. You look much better with a smile on your face.”

Forget what science says, Ravn could swear his heart could jump out of his chest right now, and no one could convince him otherwise.

On their way to the car, Hwanwoong didn't leave his side and was holding onto his arm. Ravn wasn't sure if Hwanwoong felt like he had to comfort him further, but he was too tired to care (right now). He let his hand slide up until it found Hwanwoong's arm, and he grabbed the boy's hand. He could feel Hwanwoong’s questioning gaze from the side, but he just continued to walk as he let their fingers intertwine. Holding hands was nothing out of the ordinary, and Ravn liked the feeling of holding onto something. They walked in silence while the other members in front discussed which side dishes they should order for the chicken tonight.

When they arrived at the van, their manager opened the door for them, and they quickly got in.

Seoho and Keonhee are normally the most energetic ones of the group, but they are out like a light as soon as the car started rolling. The excitement and the nervousness that was brought with the performance had taken its tribute on them all. But Youngjo welcomed the quietness.

Youngjo had sat down next to Geonhak, who was busy searching for music. After their performance, Youngjo had gone to the other rapper and had handed him a bottle of water. Geonhak had gratefully taken the bottle from him. After promising him to get them chicken after arriving at the dorm, Geonhak's “bad” mood from earlier had vanished completely.

In the row in front of them were the two youngest of the group—that is awake, sitting and chatting quietly. Youngjo couldn't make out what they were talking about but by their soft giggling, and Hwanwoong playfully slapping Dongju, whose head was leaning on the smaller boy’s shoulder—he guessed they were having a great time.

Youngjo leaned his head against the window and watched through the reflection, how Hwanwoong was animatedly talking to their youngest. When a sudden weight leaned against him, and the sound of soft breathing was right next to his ear. Youngjo eyed Geonhak's face that wore a peaceful expression. His lips were slightly parted due to him being completely relaxed. Youngjo had to hide a smile at the thought of how long the silence would last until the soft snoring of their charismatic deep-voiced rapper would start.

Nevertheless, Youngjo let the younger use his shoulder as a pillow and enjoyed the warmth the other was radiating. Youngjo leaned his head back against the headrest, feeling his muscles relax against the seat. He was ready to welcome sleep with open arms, but his thoughts were still tumbling. It occupied his mind, not giving him any rest.

Youngjo's eyes fluttered open at a noise in front of him. He must have fallen asleep, but he was sure if he had only been gone only for a few minutes, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The boy needed a few seconds until he was awake enough to focus and to make out what had caused him to get sucked back into reality. He turned his attention towards the front row, which seemed to be the source of the noise that had caused him to wake up from his dreamless sleep.

Youngjo watched through the reflection of the window Dongju and Hwanwoong. Dongju was trying to lean away from Hwanwoong, who in return tease the younger by kissing his cheek. He found himself grinning adoringly.

He was clinging onto the younger boy’s arm and was making loud kissing noises, leaving Dongju shrieking and laughing in disgust. Youngjo had no idea how this kind of situation arose, but he did not wonder about these things anymore. At least not since the time he had come back from getting groceries with Keonhee and found Seoho stuck between their fridge and the wall of the dorm. Sometimes it was better to just accept and not ask or even worse, try to understand what the heck their members were at again.

So instead of wondering he just enjoyed watching the youngest being silly. He drew his brows closer in sympathy though when he heard a loud, obnoxious kissing noise that sounded like Hwanwoong had succeeded in whatever his mission was. His thought got confirmed a second later as Dongju let out a small rant at his hyung.

“Ew, Hyung. I hate you. Now I'm infected by your germs! What if I get sick and turn as small as you are?”

Youngjo managed to oppress a snort at Dongju's complaint as he continued watching them through the reflection of the window.

“I may be small, but I have a lot of love to give. It looks like you didn't get enough of it for you to say such things. Come here maknae, let Hyung show you how much you mean to him.”

Youngjo grinned. There was one thing about Hwanwoong, he may be small, but he could be scary as hell and would not let himself being made fun of without the other party facing the consequences.

Even though all of their members knew this, it did not stop them from teasing him anyway. Because of this, Youngjo held only a little pity for them when Hwanwoong decided enough was enough and started his act of revenge.

“No, Hyung not again! I'm sorry!”

Hwanwoong just laughed and pulled the younger closer again, trying to give him another kiss but missed his cheek as Dongju turned away with all his might. Hwanwoong was nearly laying on top of their maknae by now. He seems to have given up at trying to kiss his cheek. Instead of going for his face, he pressed his still with gloss covered lips against the closest part of skin he could reach which turned out to be their maknae’s throat. Dongju let out a whine and furiously rubbed at the lip-gloss that Hwanwoong's lips left on his skin and made a disgusted expression before turning to the smaller boy who was laughing at his reaction.

Hwanwoong laughed louder as he got caught in a friendly headlock. His prettily styled hair got ruined by Dongju tousling it with his free hand, and his clothes got ridden up through the manhandling. After squeezing the sensitive part over Dongju's knee, making the other shriek and trying to pray his hands off his knee to stop the tickling sensation, Hwanwoong managed to break free.

After some more minutes of half-hearted wrestling, they called it a truce and not even a minute later the two had fallen asleep against each other. Dongju was back at cuddling with Hwanwoong's arm, the latter's head tucked against the taller boy’s shoulder. The sight alone was making Youngjo sleepy again. He leaned his head against Geonhak's, who mumbled something that Youngjo couldn't understand before he drifted back to sleep.

When he woke up again, they had arrived at their dorm. Their manager opened the door, and Youngjo shivered. It had gotten pretty cold now that the night broke in. He climbed a bit clumsily from still being sleep drunk out of the van and pulled his jacket a little closer around himself. While their manager went to open the front door, Youngjo took the role of waking the other members.

To wake Geonhak was fairly easy. A little shake of his shoulder was enough to get him out of the car and help to wake the others. While Geonhak was waking—or more manhandling Keonhee and Seoho out of the van, Youngjo directed his attention to the still cuddling youngsters.

Youngjo’s expression softened as he took in Hwanwoong’s sleeping form. His hair was now hanging lightly in front of his closed eyes, its bright color and the dark accents of his eye shadow letting his skin glow in the shallow light of the street lantern, making Hwanwoong look like so young and– “Hyung?”

Youngjo's eyes snapped to Dongju who was still having an arm around Hwanwoong, the smaller closely tucked into the maknae’s side.

“You’re kind of blocking the way, Hyung.”

Youngjo chose to ignore the look Dongju was giving him and bend forward to lightly shook Hwanwoong’s arm.

“I'm awake.”

Hwanwoong's half closed-eyes and his disorientated movements told Youngjo otherwise, but he managed to coax him out of the van and into the dorm. It was not hard to get the half-asleep teen out of his shoes and push him towards the couch, where he flopped down and seemingly melted into the fabric. Dongju vanished into their bedroom as soon as he got the chance, probably laying down on Seoho's bed reading.

Having brought all the kids successfully into the dorm, Youngjo walked over to their small kitchen and turned the electric kettle on. After performing live, he preferred to drink tea before going to sleep, as his throat sometimes got hoarse after live performances.

While he waited for the water to heat up, voices reached his ear.

“You have been the first to wash up yesterday, Keonhee-ah, now it's my turn!”

“Ya, Lee Geonhak, can't you be a bit more empathetic towards you're tired Dongsaeng?!"

The tumult in front of the bathroom had reached its peak when Seoho managed to slip past the two fighting men, and quickly locked the door behind himself. Youngjo sighed when he heard Keonhee and Geonhak's rapid knocking on the bathroom door. He was glad their manager was out to buy food, or else those two would have been scolded already.

While Youngjo carefully put his lips on the cup, he closed his eyes at the hot steam rising from the tea. After carefully drinking some hot liquid, Youngjo could feel himself relax as warmth flooded his body. While he was leaning against the kitchen counter and enjoyed his tea, Hwanwoong's voice broke him out of his world.

“Hyung, you're going to catch a cold if you don't dry your hair.”

Youngjo turned his head and saw how Seoho clothed in dark pyjama pants, and a shirt that looked a bit wide on him walked into the room. His black hair was dripping, and his smile was prominent in his voice as he started talking.

“I didn't have the time to dry my hair properly. As soon as I opened the bathroom door, I was grabbed by Keonhee and Geonhak and was pushed out.”

He laughed and scratched the back of his head. Although Youngjo couldn't see his face, he still could image Seoho's amused grin and bright eye-smile.

Hwanwoong was already on his feet and took the towel that Seoho had thrown around his shoulder. He dragged the taller man towards the couch, pushed the older down- so he stood in front of him and dropped the towel on his head. As Hwanwoong started to dry Seoho's hair, Youngjo turned and let the water run into the sink. He lightly smiled when he heard Seoho and Hwanwoong laughing about Seoho’s jokes. While he was washing the cup, Youngjo had fallen into deep thoughts again.

He didn't notice how someone stepped closer until two lanky arms wrapped him into a back-hug and a chin dropped onto his shoulder.

“Youngjo-Hyung, I think we have to send Geonhak-Hyung away, he is like the Hulk. No one can tell me that a normal person can be that strong. He is clearly not human. We should send him away for our safety."

Youngjo snorted at Keonhee's comment as he wiped his hands clean. He didn't need to see the others face to know that Keonhee was pouting right now. When his hands were dry, he patted Keonhee's head comfortingly, knowing that the other needed some attention after having lost the battle for the bathroom. Even if he found their argument funnier than anything, if Keonhee needed some affection, he was more than happy to give it to him. You could probably call him touchy or clingy, but Youngjo just enjoyed it to be close with his team members. If the others needed his comfort or someone to cuddle, then he was never one to turn them down.  
  
  


“Maybe you are just too weak,” piped Seoho up from the couch and not two seconds later, a pillow was flung at his head, which he just laughed off.

While Keonhee and Seoho started bickering on the couch, Dongju appeared out of nowhere. And soon there was a heavy discussion about if Keonhee was fragile despite his height, or if Geonhak was still human. Through all the noise and distraction, Youngjo didn't notice that Hwanwoong had stood up from his position next to Seoho until he had the main dancer on his lap. Youngjo's arms automatically wrapped themselves around Hwanwoong's middle, and he felt the other boy lean into him as he continued discussing with the others.  
  
  


“And here comes Godzilla.”

“I thought he was the Hulk.”

Seoho just shrugged his shoulders. He grinned at Dongju as Geonhak walked into the living room. Keonhee took the chance to get into the bath before anyone else could claim it; Dongju didn't look like he was rushing to get ready, Youngjo himself couldn't stand up anyway, and Hwanwoong didn't show any interest in getting up soon.

“Who is Godzilla? Wait, is that my shirt? You said you hadn't seen it Hyung!"

Well, that explained why the shirt had looked big on Seoho.

Seoho had a sheepish grin on his face when Geonhak walked over to him, and soon enough, he had wrestled the black-haired boy on his back trying to get his shirt back. Youngjo laughed as he watched the others fool around and hugged Hwanwoong a little closer. Dongju was cheering Geonhak on while Seoho was caught between halfway dying, because of Geonhak's weight on top of him while laughing hysterically. His friends seriously had too much energy. But Youngjo liked it better when they were energetic now instead of being still wide awake when it was time to sleep. Seoho and Keonhee could talk for hours if they aren't tired enough.

Youngjo let go of Hwanwoong as he felt the other boy shift in his arms. The others were still engrossed in their play as Hwanwoong stood up and disappeared without a word in the bedroom.

Youngjo was baffled.

Did Hwanwoong really just go without a word? That was really different from how the small dancer usually behaved.

Youngjo wasn't sure if he had done something to upset the other boy. He knew him being clingy could be a bit too much sometimes, but it wasn't like he had forced himself on the other; Hwanwoong had sat down on his lap at his own will after all.

The boy sighed.

Today was not his day.

Why does everything had to be so confusing today?

“ _It's okay, I am sure he just needs some time for himself. He is probably tired after today.”_

Youngjo didn't know how he must have looked for Seoho to approach and comfort him like this, but he didn't mind the warm hand laying reassuringly on his shoulder and the kind smile Seoho was giving him. He didn't comment the fact, that Seoho should probably put a shirt on, if he didn't want to catch a cold or that Seoho's hair looked like birds nest right now. Even though Seoho's words soothed him, at some point, it still worried him that Hwanwoong just walked away without a word and Youngjo's eyes wandered unwillingly towards the closed bedroom door.

In the next thirty minutes, which Dongju washed up and Keonhee joined them on the couch, Youngjo was staring mindlessly at the wall in front of him. He tried not to look too disappointed, not paying much attention to Keonhee's chattering.

“I'll talk to him.”  
  
  


Seoho had smiled at him as he whispered these words to prevent drawing too much attention while the others were chattering.

It had only been a few minutes since Seoho had entered the room, but Youngjo was already wondering what they could be talking about behind the closed door. Would Hwanwoong tell Seoho what Youngjo had done wrong for him to go like that?

Hopefully, their manager would be back with the food soon. Youngjo was tired of feeling like this.

When another sigh escaped him, this time due to his stomach protesting, Youngjo let his head fall back against the couch. He closed his eyes and just wished for time to pass faster.

An arm sneaked around his shoulder, and he let himself be pulled against the body on his right. He didn't need to open his eyes to know to whom the muscular arm belonged. There is only one member in Oneus who owned a trained body like that.

Youngjo let himself go lax in the half-sided embrace and leaned his head against the part where Geohak's neck meets his shoulder. Geonhak radiated so much warmth that Youngjo felt better just laying next to him. Maybe he had just been deprived of cuddles, and he wasn't actually sad because Hwanwoong had just left him without any words.

With those positive thoughts in mind, Youngjo started to actually listen to whatever Keonhee was rambling about next to him. He tried to get his mind clear of the heavy feeling that he had done something wrong, which had started spreading in his head. It went well until Dongju appeared in the living room.

The maknae walked quickly to their shared room, and as soon as the door opened, he vanished behind it. When the door closed behind him and hushed voices could be heard from behind the door, Youngjo felt the heaviness from before creeping back into his chest. Maybe he didn't lack cuddles after all.

“Ahh, I hope Manager-Hyung will be back with the chicken soon. I am so hungry. If we have to wait for another thirty minutes, then I am going to die.”

Youngjo smiled at Keonhee's dramatic declaration as the younger sank down on his side until his head was laying on Youngjo's lap. Youngjo mindlessly started petting Keonhee’s arm.

“That means there will be more food for us.”

“Ya, can't you be a bit nicer?”

“You won't feel hungry if you die, think of it as a good thing.”

“Ya!”

Youngjo laughed when Geonhak and Keonhee started bickering again. Their little banter lasted until their manager finally arrived with the food.

As on command, the door to the room opened and Seoho, Dongju and Hwanwoong stepped out. Youngjo quickly stood up from the couch and helped their manager unpack. They sat down and started eating. During dinner, Youngjo searched for eye contact, but his and Hwanwoong's eyes didn't meet even once.

While he had waited with the other two in the living room, Youngjo had decided to talk to Hwanwoong after dinner. He really wanted the oppressive feeling of having done something upsetting to Hwanwoong to be gone. Youngjo was not sure why this thought was eating him alive.  
  
  


Of course, he wouldn't want to upset any of his members, but why was the thought of Hwanwoong turning away from him so hurtful? The other just walked away without a word, it was not like the sky would fall on him in any second, so why was Youngjo feeling like this? He was frustrated by his feelings, which he just couldn't seem to put together to make sense.

After they had finished eating, Youngjo helped their manager clean up. He threw the trash away and helped washing the dishes, giving Hwanwoong the opportunity to wash up first. Youngjo didn't want to confront the other teen directly after the meal since Hwanwoong had looked exhausted just now. Or at least that was what Youngjo was trying to tell himself. It wasn't like letting Hwanwoong shower first was an excuse to avoid the upcoming confrontation, because he was afraid of what Hwanwoong could say. It wouldn't upset him that much if Hwanwoong would say that he had done something to make him uncomfortable. He was an adult after all: he could take whatever reason Hwanwoong could have and talk about it like adults do and work on a solution—if that was necessary. He wasn't afraid of anything. Not at all.

When Youngjo could hear the shower turning off, he panicked.

So much for mentally preparing himself.

He quickly finished rinsing the last plate and nearly let it fall when he heard the bathroom door open. At the sound of naked feet against the floor, he took a deep breath, trying to tune down the panic before he turned around to face the dancer. Youngjo had his mouth already opened to get his thoughts of off his chest, ready to spit them out like a rap and quickly end it but the words were stuck in his throat at the sight in front of him.

White shorts that ended just above the knees,

a large black shirt that showed a glimpse of a delicate collarbone,

wet hair,

pale skin,

big dark eyes,

a shy but tired smile.

“Thank you for letting me shower first Hyung.”

Hwanwoong turned around and was gone faster than Youngjo could have called after him.

Youngjo wasn't sure how long he stood in the kitchen, mouth still open, a towel from drying the dishes is motionlessly in his hands and the afterimage of what he had just seen replaying in front of his inner eye. After realizing that the person he had meant to talk to just closed the door in front of him—for the second time this day, Youngjo tried hard to repress the disappointment that was hitting him.

The boy tiredly let a hand run through his hair. He had the feeling that Hwanwoong would be already sleeping when he had finished washing up. Also, calling the other out to talk in private in front of the others could cause an uncomfortable atmosphere, and Youngjo wanted to avoid that.

He used more time than usual showering. Standing under the hot running water and letting his body embrace the warmth was somewhat comforting. While standing under the shower, Youngjo tried to take his time and collect his thoughts. Wasn't he just overreacting? Hwanwoong had behaved unusual but was it necessary for Youngjo to panic like that without even knowing the reason for Hwanwoong's behavior? The more Youngjo thought about it, the more ridiculous it became.

“Maybe I'm just too tired from this comeback. I have become too sensitive.”

Youngjo didn't care how weird it must look for him to speak to himself under the shower, but there wasn't anyone who would witness it anyway.  
  
  


He turned the water off and brought the towel closer to his face. After drying his face, he tied the towel around his hips and quickly went on with his skincare routine before dressing..  
  
  


When Youngjo finally stepped into their room, the others were already fast asleep. He didn't have the heart to turn the lights on. After closing the door, he stood in the dark. The boy carefully made his way towards his bed. On his way, he stepped on something that felt like the plastic wrapping for snacks or something similar, and he flinched at the sound. Youngjo halted instinctively mid-movement and prayed that no one had woken up by the ruckus he caused. He let go of the breath he was holding when he was sure none of the others had woken up and slowly continued walking towards his bed. He cheered inwardly as his fingertips finally came in contact with the familiar bed-frame. Youngjo lied down on his bed and pulled the blanket up, so he could wrap it around himself. His eyes started falling on their own, the calm and regular breathing of his fellow band members was like a lullaby by now, lulling him to sleep.

“ _Tomorrow would be a better day.”_  
  
  


Or at least that was Youngjo's last thought before he drifted off to sleep.

“Ravn-Hyung, you have to wake up. We will be late for practice!”

Youngjo laid an arm over his eyes, protecting them from the sting of the light that Keonhee has ruthlessly switched on. The taller boy walked over to him and shook him with both hands, whining at him to get up. Youngjo's motivation to get up was as low as Geonhak's voice. He needed Keonhee to drag him out of their room and shoo him into the bathroom to wash up. He wasn't normally someone who had problems getting up in the morning, but today his motivation hit rock bottom.

Youngjo needed more than five minutes to realize that something was strange as he got dressed.  
  
  


“Where are the others?”

He turned to look at Keonhee, who was leaning against the door frame. The adolescent was tapping with his foot on the ground and glanced at the clock on his wrist.

“Hyung, don't ask questions and tie your shoelaces faster, manager-hyung doesn't like it when we come late to practice!”  
  
  


Keonhee hurried him and was already standing at the door as Youngjo was searching for his jacket.

“Hyung!”

Keonhee was holding his jacket out for him, and Youngjo smiled at him apologetically. When they were finally on their way to the studio and Keonhee wasn't as annoyed by him, Youngjo tried asking again where the other member were.

“Hwanwoong had been awake way too early this morning and said he wanted to practice alone since he can't fall asleep. Geonhak-hyung was also awake for some reason and joined him, saying he liked to work out as a warm-up before today's practice. He is bulking up too much Hyung; he is going to crush us all someday.”

Youngjo laughed.

“He won't crush anyone if you don't annoy him. He's a softie.”

When Keonhee shot him an exaggerated look of betrayal, Youngjo poked him playfully in the side which earned him a pout from the younger. Youngjo linked their arms and smiled at Keonhee before signalizing him to go on.

“Well, the two were so loud that we all except you woke up. I am surprised how you could sleep through even though they were really noisy. After all that Dongju and Seoho also said they were too awake to go back to sleep now and they didn't want to waste time laying in bed. Don't ask me why they are suddenly acting like that. As if they aren't lazy about ninety percent of the time. And I didn't want to go to practice earlier if I don't have to and someone had to wake you up. And that's why it’s only the two of us.”

Keonhee wriggled his eyebrows and gave him a wink for, which Youngjo pushed him away with a laugh.  
  
  


They continued to walk side by side, Keonhee talking about this and that and Youngjo answering from time to time.

When they arrived at the practice room, the music could already be heard outside. Keonhee walked in first and held the door open for Youngjo who followed him. Youngjo's eyes quickly scanned through the practice room.

Inside the room, Geonhak was doing push-ups in a corner. A few meters from him were Seoho and Dongju sitting on the ground talking. Youngjo's eyes stopped at the person in the middle of the practice room.  
  
  


Hwanwoong was in front of the mirror and hadn't seemed to notice them. He was completely focused on his reflection as he was dancing, and Youngjo was sure the younger teen never looked more breathtaking. Seeing Hwanwoong dance was something that never failed to amaze him, no matter how many times he had seen it. Maybe it was how he moved to the music, how passionate he was while expressing himself, how effortlessly he kept up with the fast pace of the music or just how you could see that he loved what he was doing.

Youngjo wasn't sure what it exactly was or how to put it into words, but he just loved to see Hwanwoong dance.  
  
  


Maybe he loved it a bit too much though.

He felt the embarrassment grew when Keonhee was giving him a funny look from the side, and Youngjo felt like he was living through a Déjà vu. Dongju had given him a similar glance when he had watched Hwanwoong in the waiting room. Youngjo wished the ground would open up under him and swallow him whole. As if it wasn't enough that Hwanwoong had been avoiding him yesterday and maybe this morning too, now he also had been caught staring again by another one of his members. He was going to lose it soon.

Youngjo didn't had time to sink deeper into his puddle of self-pity and embarrassment as the song Hwanwoong had been dancing to came to an end. Geonhak was helping Dongju up while ignoring Seoho who had also his hand stretched out for him to pull him up, earning him a grimace and glare from the older. Youngjo could see that today too, his members were just as mature as usual.

His attention switched back to Hwanwoong who seemed to have noticed Keonhee and him arriving by now. When Hwanwoong looked at Keonhee, Youngjo was ready for the other boy’s eyes to avert before they could focus on him. With those expectations in mind, it caught him even more by surprise when Hwanwoong's and his eyes meet. Instead of ignoring or avoiding eye contact Hwanwoong smiled softly and waved for them to step closer.

Youngjo felt like fainting.

Hwanwoong didn't ignore him like yesterday.

Hwanwoong had made eye contact with him.

Hwangwoong had smiled at him... while they had eye contact.

But that could only mean that the cute and somewhat shy-looking smile Hwanwoong had shot in his direction had not been direct at Keonhee and him but only at Youngjo...  
  
  


Hwanwoong had smiled at him!

Youngjo felt like an invisible weight had been taken of off him. He had stressed himself since yesterday, but it seemed like he had been worrying for nothing. The corner of his lips pulled up as relief flooded his heart, and he smiled back at the smaller man.

They started practicing the new choreography, and Youngjo felt good. He was able to concentrate solely on the dance. It was nice to just dance without worrying about the incident from yesterday and if Hwanwoong was still mad at him. Youngjo would lie if he would say he wasn't curious what went wrong, but he was just too relieved that Hwanwoong didn't seem to be upset with him anymore, that he didn't mind being in the unknown.

After an hour practicing, Youngjo called it a break. They all flopped down on various places in the room while Seoho walked over to their manager’s bag to get them something to drink. He watched how the younger handed Keonhee and Dongju their bottles before making his way to Geonhak, who was lying sprawled out like a starfish on the floor in the middle of the room. Standing in front of the teen, Seoho lifted his foot and acted like he would step on Geonhak. He was grinning widely when Geonhak opened one eye to glance at him in annoyance.

Seoho lowered his foot until his shoe was applying just a slight pressure on Geonhak's chest, the latter watching the other still with only one eye opened.

Seoho grinned from ear to ear and Youngjo knew that the dark-haired teen would regret teasing their muscle chick soon.

The next second, a scream could be heard as Geonhak grabbed Seoho's ankle without a warning. Seoho tried to shake the hand off and after a minute of screaming, laughing and promising to never do it again, he managed to free himself. Youngjo was sure that if Geonhak had honestly wanted to, he could have dragged Seoho easily down to him. Geonhak's strength was incredible after all.

Youngjo leaned against the wall and wiped the sweat from his face with a towel when he felt someone sitting down next to him. He glanced to the side, only to meet with a pair of dark eyes gazing up at him. Youngjo gulped and used the towel to cover his eyes.

He just prevented sweat from running into his eyes. It wasn't like he was blushing just because Hwanwoong sat down directly next to him and had obviously been watching him. Who would blush because of something like that?

Youngjo cursed the heat rushing into his head.

“Hyung, your ears are red, do you feel that hot?”

Youngjo could swear he heard a grin in Hwanwoong's voice just now. Where was Seoho with the water? He needed water right now.

“I'm fine, it is just really warm in here.”

His voice came out muffled because of the fabric in front of his face.

“Maybe you should take off your shirt then.”

The towel Youngjo had held in front of his face fell out of his hands. He gaped at Hwanwoong who smiled innocently at him. He wasn't sure if his mind was playing a trick on him, but as Youngjo took a closer look at the other adolescent, he could see the tips of Hwanwoong's ears growing red.

“Hyung, we have a little problem.”

“ _I have more than a little problem right now,”_ thought Youngjo but nether less tore his gaze from Hwanwoong who suddenly seemed intrigued in his shoes and didn't look up when Seoho started talking.

Youngjo looked up and was met with a sheepishly grinning Seoho standing in front of him, who ran a hand through his messy black strands. It looked like fighting against Geonhak after practicing was tiring judging by Seoho's slightly reddened face.

“What's the problem?”

Seoho's grin flattered a bit, and he pursed his lips before speaking.

“We don't have enough to drink for everyone. I noticed just now that we are short of one bottle.”

Seoho held his hand with the last water bottle out for them, his eyes busy wandering from Youngjo to Hwanwoong back to Youngjo. The adolescent was obviously unsure who he should give the last bottle of water. Youngjo found it a bit endearing how confused Seoho looked.

“I can go and buy another bottle, don't worry Seoho.”

Youngjo stood up and was about to grab some money when a hand closed around his wrist and held him back. He glanced down to see that Hwanwoong had apparently lost interest in the sole of his sneakers.

“It is okay Hyungie, Youngjo-hyung and I can share a bottle. Our break is nearly over, and we shouldn't waste time buying drinks right now. If we need more water, we can still buy one later if necessary.”

Hwanwoong stood up and took the bottle from Seoho while looking into the elder’s eyes. Their eye contact lasted longer than Youngjo liked before he opened the bottle and handed it to Youngjo, who held his hands up in front of him.

“It's okay, you can drink first.”

“Are you sure, Hyung? I don't mind drinking after you.”

“No, no, it's okay. Please go first.”

Youngjo leaned back against the wall and let himself slide down while Hwanwoong set the bottle on his lips and started drinking.

It was the first time in his life that Youngjo could understand fans cheering when they saw their idols drink something. Hwanwoong looked incredible sex—charismatic while drinking.

His jawline was standing out more due to his neck leaning back a bit, and his adam's apple bobbed up and down with every gulp. The protruding vein of his neck glistered with sweat, and Youngjo felt his mouth getting drier with every second. He really needed some water right now.

When Youngjo caught himself staring, he quickly averted his eyes from Hwanwoong and let them wander through the training's room. He regretted his decision when he met eyes with Dongju, who was wearing an unreadable expression on his face. Dongju was probably judging him.

Again.

It will be only a matter of days until their maknae would be completely weirded out by him, Youngjo is sure of it.

“Hyung? You can have the rest if you want.”  
  
  


Youngjo's attention was immediately back on Hwanwoong. The latter held the bottle out for him, and Youngjo gratefully took it. He had been really thirsty. He was about to set the bottle on his lips when his eyes fell on the water droplets at the neck of the bottle. That was the place where Hwanwoong's lips had been just a few seconds ago. If he would drink from the bottle, it was like he was indirectly kissing Hwanwoong.

Youngjo couldn't help but stare at the bottle.

It was normal for them all to share the same bottles, the same chopsticks and sometimes even the same lip-balm. One time he even shared a toothbrush with Seoho during their trainee-days.

Well, when Youngjo gave it a closer thought that had been a misunderstanding and the result of miscommunication but that was not the point right now. They shared so many things so why was he so intrigued by the thought of drinking from the same bottle as Hwanwoong? Something was seriously wrong with him.

“Hyung, is something wrong with the water?”

His eyes snapped back at Seoho, who had his head tilted in question.

“It tasted normal to me,” said Hwanwoong next to him.

With two pairs of eyes fixated on him, Youngjo felt himself grow uncomfortable under the attention. He quickly took a few sips from the bottle.

“Sorry, I just spaced out for a second. I guess I am a bit unfocused today,” he said after closing the bottle and putting it on the ground between Hwanwoong and himself. He had left some in case Hwanwoong would still be thirsty even though he liked to drink a bit more. He could stand being a bit thirsty.

“Only today?”

Youngjo raised an eyebrow at Dongju who quickly acted like he had never said a word and walked away from them. He hadn't even noticed the maknae approaching them. He kept watching how Dongju quickly put some distance between them and walked towards Geonhak.

The maknae tried to drag Geonhak to his feet, but Geonhak looked like he wasn't keen on standing up anytime soon. The latter pulled the younger down instead and soon Dongju was caught in a half hug, half head-lock. “Serves him right,” thought Youngjo satisfied in seeing the maknae suffer. Dongju had been a bit too sassy for his liking in the last couple of days anyway.

In the end, they still needed to buy some drinks, and Youngjo sent Dongju and Geonhak to the vending machine on the first floor. When it started to get dark outside, Youngjo called the practice to an end. They packed their things and cleaned the room before making their way out of the building.

It was growing colder with every day, autumn starting to color the leaves. The sky was flooded with a vibrant orange which runs out into a glowing red. The clouds were tinted in soft purple and pink, but the colors would fade soon with the upcoming darkness. It was a short livid beauty, which Youngjo appreciated every time he saw it.

“The sky looks really beautiful doesn't it?”

Hwanwoongs voice was soft, and Youngjo could hear the tiredness in it. He nodded and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hwanwoong smile. When his heartbeat was a bit louder than he liked, Youngjo quickly averted his gaze and watched Geonhak punching Seoho in the arm who stuck his tongue out in return.

They were walking next to each other. It was like yesterday, but this time they weren't holding hands. Their shoulders brushed against each other from time to time, but that was all.

“I want ice cream.”

“Are you serious? It is getting colder with every second. How could you crave ice cream Hyung?”

Seeing Dongju judging Keonhee hard was weirdly satisfying to Youngjo. It was nice to not be the one being judged for once.

“I want ice cream too.”

“Hyung, not you too!”

Seoho just shrugged his shoulders with a grin.

“Well, I am not going to buy it,” said Dongju.

“Me neither.”

Dongju and Geonhak high-fived each other.

“Does anyone volunteers to buy the ice cream?”

Youngjo looked from one member to the next, but all the response he earned were the shaking of heads and his eyes being avoided. He sighed. Alright.

“We are going to play rock, paper, scissor at the dorm, loser buys ice cream.”

“As long as it isn't me, I'm okay with it,” said Dongju and with that, they continued their walk to the dorm. As soon as they reached the door, a circle was formed, and they all chanted rock, paper, scissor before throwing the hand signals in the middle.

Dongju and Seoho cheered loudly and hugged as they were the first to win. Hwanwoong joined their hug with bright laughter as he won the next round.

“I am sorry Hyung, but you will have to go on your own."

“Keonhee is still playing too. I'm not going to lose to him.”

“Could you two not talk like I am not even here?!"

Youngjo threw scissor in the middle and hoped to have knocked out at least one of them, but when he saw two fists next to his scissor, he sighed. At least the convenience store was located only a few streets from their dorm. It would take maybe twenty minutes to walk to the store, search for an ice cream that the others could like and walk back. While the others yelled through the dorm what kind of snacks and ice cream they wanted, Youngjo grabbed his wallet and was on his way out of the door.

“I'll be going now.”

He was about to close the door behind himself when a hand appeared in the crack between the door and the frame, and the door was pulled back. Youngjo let go of the handle, expecting one of the members to stand in front of him, already dressed in comfortable clothes, ready to ask for even more snacks. His eyebrows rose when instead of his expectation, he saw Geonhak and Keonhee zipping their jackets, ready to head out.

“We are going with you Hyung,” said Geonhak, who had seemed to notice Youngjo's surprised expression.

Youngjo was wondering why they would want to join him to walk to the store. It was getting cold and dark outside, and Youngjo himself would have stayed inside if he had won the game. Well, he wasn't someone to complain about a bit company, so he just accepted it but when they were walking for around five minutes in complete silence, something felt off.  
  
  


It wasn't like Keonhee was talking and goofing around all the time, but it was a bit unusual for him to say nothing at all. Geonhak, on the other hand, could be pretty talkative but also had his more silent moments. Him walking in silence next to Youngjo was a bit more normal, but for them both walking without even trying to start a conversation, was more than a bit odd. To walk with both of his members in complete silence was not uncomfortable by any means, but it was a strange feeling. If they were too tired to talk then why would they join him instead of resting in the dorm?

Youngjo shook his head. Yesterday it had been Hwanwoong, today it was Keonhee and Geonhak's behavior which he couldn't seem to understand. Would Seoho and Dongju also act strange within the next few days? Nevermind, Seoho couldn't probably get any weirder.

They finally reached the store, and Youngjo quickly walked in to buy ice cream, snacks and some soda. His wallet would protest later, but maybe their manager would give him some money back if he showed him his puppy, or like Seoho liked to joke kitten eyes.

He was standing in front of one of the shelves and was about to grab the soda that Hwanwoong had been mentioning the other day, when he halted mid-movement as a thought crossed his mind.Why would Keonhee and Geonhak wait in front of the store? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to choose what they wanted on their own? Sure, he knew what they liked, but something was weird. Why would they prefer to wait in the dark outside, not to mention that it had gotten really cold by now, instead of joining him?

Youngjo turned his head and glanced out of the store to see Geonhak and Keonhee talking with each other. They had been silent the whole way to the store, but from what Youngjo could see, those two were in a heated discussion right now.

His brows furrowed at the sight as he could not put together why the younger boys were acting like that. He greeted the cashier at the counter and paid for the food before stepping out of the store.

As soon as Keonhee saw him walking closer, he and Geonhak stopped talking and Youngjo wasn't sure if he was in the position to feel hurt. It was not like his friends did anything wrong. They didn't have to tell him everything, after all, he valued privacy and wanted everyone to have their own and be comfortable, but he couldn't help feeling a bit left out. Without a word, he strode past the two and started to walk back. He could hear the others call after him and quickly run to close the distance between them.

“Is something wrong, Hyung?”

Youngjo could hear the confusion in Geonhak's voice and felt the worried look from the side. Youngjo sighed. He was acting really childish right now, and as soon as he took a look at confused dark eyes watching him with worry reflecting in them, he felt guilty.

“No, everything is alright.”

He turned to Geonhak and gave him a smile to show that he was fine, but he could see from Geonhak's expression that the younger was not convinced by his words in the slightest.

Even though he felt guilty, Youngjo wasn't in the mood to talk further about it. Even if he would try the two younger teens would deny it anyway. What was the point?

He continued walking, deciding to not comment about how he had two completely healthy eyes and he could see Keonhee and Geonhak trying to subtle exchange glances behind his back. Only a few more minutes, and they would be back at the dorm. He could change into his pajamas and lay down on his bed. If he told the other members that he wasn't feeling well, maybe they would give him some alone time in their room.  
  
  


Youngjo was really in the mood to be alone right now.

He adored his members but yesterday and today had just been too exhausting.

The plastic bag felt heavy in his hand, and he was about to ask Geonhak to carry it for the rest of their way when long cold fingers carefully slipped over his own and gently took the bag out of his hand. Youngjo turned to Keonhee, wanting to thank him as a warm hand caught his wrist with a firm grip, stopping him from walking further. His eyes wandered from Keonhee to Geonhak, who still held his arm even when they stopped walking.

“Hyung, we have to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm srl happy I got someone to help me make this story a bit more enjoyable. So, pls welcome Cim, who works hard on helping to provide a story with less mistakes haha. I hope you enjoy this now re-edited version.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm happy to see that the first chapter of his fanfic seemed to caught enough interest for you to come back. I hope you enjoy the second chapter of this story as much as the first. A little side note, in the future I won't be able to post the chapter so fast as I do now. I have some free time in the moment which I can use to write every day and work on this story, but I am very slow since english isn't my native language and I just write reall slow haha. I also want to post long chapters for you so in the future the updates will probably take a bit time. I hope you enjoy the story nethertheless.

_“Hyung, we have to talk.”_

Youngjo raised and eyebrow at those words.

“Is it about you two not saying a single word on our way to the store and talking behind my back and thinking I wouldn't notice or is it something else?"

His eyes were avoided by two with guilt ridden faces and Youngjo didn't like seeing this kind of expressions on his members faces, but he decided to keep looking stern. He was honestly a bit annoyed and felt he was in the right to show just that.

“We are sorry about that Hyung. We didn't mean to make it look like that. We weren't talking behind your back."

“You weren't?”

Youngjo raised his other eyebrow.

“Okay technically we were talking behind your back, but it wasn't anything bad I promise,” piped Keonhee up from the side.

“Then what were you two talking about and what do you want to talk about with me?”

His eyes wandered from Keonhee, who nervously bit his upper lip towards Geonhak, who tried hard to not look distressed, but whose busy fingers were playing with the button on his jackets sleeve, giving his true feelings away. It was getting even colder outside and Youngjo was getting tired of standing under the light of a street lantern while trying to get Keonhee and Geonhak to the point.

At least the ice cream wouldn't melt that fast in the cold.

“It is about you and Hwanwoong.”

“And what exactly are you playing at?”

Youngjo watched with growing annoyance as Geonhak and Keonhee exchanged looks with each other, seeming to be talking about something with their eyes that he was completely unaware of.

What could it be with him and Hwanwoong that they would want to talk about?

“Hyung we know that you like Hwanwoongie a lot, and we would like to encourage you to ask him out.”

Well, that was not what he had been expecting.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?”

Youngjo must have misheard. He furrowed his brows as he kept waiting for the others to repeat what just left their mouth.

“I told you he would react like that!”

“Shut up Geonhak, we have to get him out of the shock. He's clearly trying to cope with the shock by believing that he didn't hear that we told him that he should confess his feelings.”

“I am not under shock. And there is nothing to confess, I don't even know what you two are talking about.”

Now it was Geonhak and Keonhee's turn to raise their eyebrows at him.

“Hyung, you can't be serious?”

Keonhee looked like he wanted to facepalm himself which Youngjo found plain rude, because that kind of reaction was more than uncalled for. It wasn't like he was completely oblivious for the feelings he had for Hwanwoong and was pinning at him for weeks. Because that could be a reason to feel frustrated, but since he didn't have any feelings for their main dancer and nobody was pinning anyone Keonhee's reaction was really over the top.

Youngjo blinked quickly, trying to convince himself that he indeed wasn't shocked. He pointed with his hand at Keonhee who stepped back a little, holding his hands in front of him as if he was scared of getting hurt by Youngjos index finger.

“Please don't get mad Hyung. It is just,” Keonhee, normally a pretty good talker stumbled over his words as he tried to explain himself, “,- well, we have noticed in the last few days-”

“More weeks than days to be exact.”

“Can you not interrupt me for once, for gods sake!”

“Get to the point!”

Youngjo hadn't meant to make the two boys jump by raising his voice, but he feared that if he didn't, he would never hear the end of their reasoning.

“We noticed that you have stared a bit much at Woongie and you are more touchy with him than usual,-”

“You mean even more touchy which I thought was pretty impossible.”

Keonhee slapped Geonhak's shoulder for interrupting him again before he went on.

“- and you also seem to be lost in though a lot, so we figured something was on your mind. We weren't sure if we just interpreted something in your behavior, but after you looked like a kicked puppy when Hwanwoong left the room yesterday we decided that we would talk to you about it. We aren't saying you have feelings for him, but if you maybe-,”

Keonhee took a tiny step backwards when Youngjo narrowed his eyes at him but continued to talk nevertheless,

“- have them, then Geonhak-Hyung and I would like you to know that we are here to support you and help you with whatever is on your mind and whatever decision you plan to make, Hyung.”

“Okay first of all, I think I have to make some things clear since there seems to be a misunderstanding. I do not have any romantic feelings for Hwanwoong. I like him just like I like you all as friends and as my members. It is nice to know that I have your support and it is also nice to know that you worry about me, but there isn't anything and there won't be anything romantic between me and Hwanwoong.”

Youngjo sighed at the not convinced expressions on Geonhak and Keonhee's faces.

He turned and walked the last few meters to their dorm entrance. The light in the floor switched on as he opened the door which he held open for the other two, despite still being a little upset with the two which was probably more than noticeable as the two quickly walked past him and up the stairs.

They walked up in silence and Youngjo had a feeling that the silence between them would probably continue for the rest of the afternoon. He just hoped it won't be too awkward around the other members, even though he knew that he was the reason the mood was a little unnerving in the first place.

“Seoho-hyung, have you lost your mind? That is the dumbest thing you have ever done, what kind of pl-”

“We are back?”

Youngjo stood at the entrance of their living room, Keonhee and Geonhak peeping over his shoulders, looking like two scared meerkats as they tried to see what was going on.

Hwanwoong was standing with his back to them but Youngjo could see his small figure shaking with rage and he tried to think back if he had ever seen the smaller teen this angry. From his position Youngjo could see the tips of Hwanwoong's ears glowing bright red. He wondered what Seoho had done to make the other boy literally go red with anger. It must have been one hell of a dumb thing.

Hwanwoong stood in front of Seoho who looked pretty unbothered by a thin index finger being rapidly poked against his chest while Hwanwoong was venting about whatever was bothering him. Behind them Dongju sat on the couch watching them, again with an unreadable expression on his face, but Youngjo was sure he saw a glint of amusement in his eyes at the drama enfolding in front of him. Maybe their maknae had some kind of sadistic liking? Youngjo shuddered at the thought before Keohee's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Did something happen?”

Hwanwoong snapped his head in their direction and Youngjo could feel Keonhee flinch behind him at the icy stare. The taller boy shuffled closer to him, using Youngjo as a shield. He could hear Keonhee stutter a quick apology and if Youngjo wouldn't actually be pretty scared himself, he would have laughed at Keonhee being so intimidated by someone a head smaller than him.

Before Hwanwoong could answer, Seoho laid a hand on Hwanwoongs petite shoulder but quickly let it fall when Hwanwoong slowly turned his head back to him. Youngjo couldn't see Hwanwoongs's expression but Seoho's instantly scared face and Dongju's raised eyebrows in the back indicated that it must have been pretty intense.

“Well, I maybe.. it really wasn't on purpo- eugh!”

Geonhak winced behind him when Seoho received a pointy elbow in the side. Seoho rubbed his side with a pained expression and took a step to the side to avoid any further hits. After having brought a safe seeming distance between himself and Hwanwoong Seoho took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

_“ImayhavespilledsomejuiceonyourbedHyungIamverysorry.DidImentionthatwedon'thaveanyspareblanketsleftsincetheyareallinthelaundry?”_

“You're sure you aren't better of as a rapper Hyung? You're pretty good.”

“Haha, thank you Geonha-ahh!"

This time it was Keonhee who winced in sympathy when Seoho, even thought he put a safety distance between himself and Hwanwoong, earned himself a kick against the shin.

“Let me get this straight,-” Youngjo furrowed his brows at Dongju's smirk and decided to ignore it.

He gave up trying to understand their maknae at this point.

“- you spilled something on my blankets, and we don't have a spare one?”

“It's not something but apple juice to be exact. But yes, I spilled it on your blanket but also on the mattress and I am very sorry Hyung!”

Seoho bowed in his direction but Youngjo shook his hands in front of him, signalizing him to stop.

“You don't have to apologize, that can happen. I can sleep on the couch.”

“Without any blanket? You will be freezing Hyung!.”

“Don't worry, I can put on some more clothes and sleep here.”

He pointed at the couch to get his point across, showing that it didn't bother him to sleep in the living room but the others were having none of it.

“But what if you get sick Hyung?”

This time it was Geonhak, who was still standing behind him speaking up. Youngjo reached out for the younger man to pat his back reassuringly.

“I won't catch a cold that quickly.”

His smile wavered when Youngjo felt the collective stare of five pairs of eyes directed at him, they all carrying the same message.

After his injury and hiatus they all got more careful about their health. It did not stop them from doing anything slightly dumb and dangerous, like Seoho jumping on Geonhak's back in the practice room, screaming something about taking down the monster to save humankind or similar things, but they tried to not train too hard and be careful of the cold weather. An injured or sick member wouldn't be of any use or worse get them all sick. They couldn't risk that in the middle of their promotions.

“Wouldn't be the best idea be to share a bed with one of us?”

Youngjo looked at Keonhee who was now leaning his chin on his shoulder. Youngjo didn't mind the extra weight on his shoulder or that Keonhee was sneaking his arms around him from behind but Hwanwoongs eyes on him made him feel a bit uneasy. He decided to avoid the stare and direct his eyes on Seoho who was speaking.

“That's a great idea, you won't get cold then.”

Seoho avoided the elbow this time and plopped down next to Dongju who pulled a face when he quickly had to move to the side to not get sat on. Youngjo was a bit surprised why Seoho of all people was so enthusiastic about him sharing a bed with one of them, but he decided to let it go. He wasn't one to turn down any free cuddles so sleeping with one of them didn't bother him in the slightest.

“There is a problem.”

All eyes turned to Geonhak who was now taking his jacket and shoes off, before walking to the couch and sitting down on Dongju's other side. Youngjo let a smirk slip as he saw Dongju's annoyed expression. Seems like being sandwiched between Geonhak and Seoho on the couch, wasn't that nice.

“And what would that be?”

It was Youngjo's turn to take off his shoes and jacket before he took the half melted ice cream out of the plastic bag. He ignored Keonhees whining as his personal head rest was gone. Youngjo handed the members their share of the treat, ignoring Dongju snatching the ice cream Geonhak had wanted out of his hand and Geonhak growling at the maknae before taking a different ice cream but clearly not pleased about his second choice.

“We are all pretty tall so it could get really cramped in one bed.”

“It's not like all six of us are going to sleep in one bed.”

Keonhee looked at Geonhak as if the other just said something really dumb and Geonhak in the turn looked like he wanted to facepalm himself. Or better facepalm Keonhee.

“I know that too, I'm just saying that it will be hard to sleep in one bed even it its only two people.”

Youngjo was still giving out ice cream while Keonhee and Geonhak continued bickering.

When he stood next to Hwanwoong he smiled at the younger boy. Hwanwoong's slender fingers brushed his as the younger took the ice cream out of his hand and Youngjo took in the red flushing on the smaller teens face. He tilted his head in confusion. Was Hwanwoong still upset about his argument with Seoho? A quick glance at Seoho who was happily eating his snacks made him doubtful if the argument had been that bad. But why else would Hwanwoong still be so red in the face?

What confused Youngjo more than Hwanwoong's behavior was what Geonhak said just now. Sure they were all pretty tall, with the expectation of one good-looking main dancer who was now sucking on his ice cream, but that had never hindered them before to slip in a bed that didn't belong to them and sleep together. Sure, the next day the possibility to wake up with a dead feeling in your arm or a cramp in your neck was high, but it wasn't impossible to fit in the small place together.

“If it's like that, then the best choice would be for Hwanwoong and Hyung to share a bed together,”said Dongju as he let Geonhak have a bite of his ice cream only to slap the elder as nearly half of the ice cream got eaten by a now brightly grinning Geonhak.

Youngjo jumped at the sound of a harsh coughing right next to him and he reacted quickly by walking to Hwanwoong and patting his back as the latter seemed to have choked on a piece of ice cream. He held the smaller man close to him until Hwanwoong laid his hand on his own, reassuring him that he was okay, but Youngjo left his hands on Hwanwoong's shoulder and arm just in case.

“I can sleep on the couch, it won't be that bad.”

Youngjo tried again to reassure the others as a hand pulled on his sleeve. He looked down and Hwanwoong quickly avoided eye contact before he started to talk.

“It's okay Hyung, you can sleep with me in my bed. I don't mind.”

It went silent in the living room after Hwanwoong muttered those words under his breath. Youngjo would lie if he said that Hwanwoong's offer didn't take him by surprise. He would have thought, that after the events of the last few days the younger teen would complain or be against them sharing a bed for sure.

Youngjo had already come to terms with sharing a bed with any other member.

It wasn't like he didn't like sleeping with the others. Sure Keonhee and Dongju had pretty pointy elbows but they both tended to hug him in their sleep anyway so that wouldn't be much of a problem. They were all immune at this point to Geonhaks snoring and with the heat radiating from the other the bed would never get cold. Seoho would just lay next to him and it was Youngjo who would sooner or later turn towards the raven haired boy in his sleep to throw an arm over him. In conclusion, Youngjo wouldn't mind sharing a bed with any of them and he was sure the others knew about this fact, which made it even more surprising to him for Hwanwoong to make an offer like that.

“If its okay with you then I'll take the offer.”

Youngjo gave Hwanwoong a smile while inwardly he wasn't sure if he made the right decision.

"An opportunity is an opportunity and it would be dumb to let it go.”, he tried to be positive when a thought hit him. Why would he want that opportunity in the first place?

While still being confused by his own train of thoughts, Youngjo's smile flattered as Hwanwoong wormed his way out of his half-sided embrace. Youngjo's eyes followed the boy as he quickly vanished into their room. Youngjo felt like he did something wrong again but just as he was starting to worry the door opened again and Hwanwoong's head poked out of their room.

“I am just setting up the bed.”

As soon as the words left his lips the door closed again with a little more force than needed, but Youngjo's lips formed into a smile nevertheless.

“What does he have to set up for them to sleep together?”

“Shhh!”

Geonhak raised an eyebrow when Seoho leaned over Dongju who protested greatly since Seoho was using his lap to support himself but was unheard. Seoho pressed a finger over Geonhak's lips to keep him from talking and Geonhak furrowed his brows but kept his lips shut.

While the others started to eat the other snacks they had bought Youngjo remembered the soda he had especially bought for Hwanwoong. He went to the kitchen and poured a glass with the fizzy drink but then hesitated. Would Hwanwoong be mad if he just came into the room. The other had looked like he needed some time alone after slamming the door like that. Youngjo stood in the kitchen for the next five minutes, torn back and forth if he should go or not, all the while holding the glass in his hands.

It took him another minute to calm himself down before walking through the living room where he igonred Keonhees and Geonhak's stares before entering the bedroom.

“Hey Hwanwoong, I have bought you-Oh, sorry I didn't know you were changing.”

Youngjo tried to sound causal as he walked in but the words got stuck in his throat at the sight in front of him.

Hwanwoong stood in front of his bed and was only wearing his sleeping pants, a black shirt with dark blue letters clutched in front of his chest and his eye widended, caught in surprise by someone suddenly coming in. Youngjo wasn't sure if he should look away but he couldn't break his eyes away anyway from the sight in front of him.

They saw each other without clothes all the time, in the waiting room and the dorm, but walking in on Hwanwoong changing caught him by surprise and suddenly Youngjo wasn't sure how to react. Hwanwoong himself seemed to relax after a few seconds and let the shirt sink down. The movement revealed his lean upper body to Youngjo's eyes who couldn't help let his eyes roam over prominent but decent muscles and pale skin.

Hwanwoong continued changing, unaware of Youngjo starring at him, and was about to put the shirt over his head when Youngjo's eyes fell on an angry dark purple and slightly reddish looking bruise on Hwanwoongs upper-rips. In a matter of seconds Youngjo had put the drink down on a bedside table and was by Hwanwoong's side, holding the others arm away from his body to look at the injury. The shirt fell to the ground through Youngjo's sudden examination of the smaller teens upper body.

“When did this happen?” asked Youngjo with slight panic in his voice as his eyes scanned over the bruise. He carefully prodded the skin next to the bruise to check how large the injury was. Hwanwoong hissed at the move and flinched away from his touch. Youngjo quickly let go of his arm and frantically apologized but Hwanwoong waved at him to stop.

“Youngjo-hyung, it's alright, I just slipped today before you and Keonhee arrived. I felt a bit unlucky but it is only a slight bruise, nothing to worry over.”

He patted Youngjo's arm while talking but Youngjo wasn't convinced. It wouldn't be the first time one of the members had tried to play of an injury or sickness because they thought it was minor and in the end they hurt themselves or caught a flu.

“Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor? What if you have pulled something? Does our manager know about this and wha-”

“Hyung!”

Youngjo's mouth closed instantly when Hwanwoong raised his voice just a bit.

“Manager-hyung knows what happened and we already talked about visiting a doctor. Please calm down.”

Youngjo felt a bit better after knowing that their Manager was aware of Hwanwoong's injury but he still couldn't keep himself from worrying.

“Let me check if you haven't hurt yourself anywhere else.”

He walked around Hwanwoong to check if he could find any more bruises on the smaller teens back before laying his hand on his back. He touched Hwanwoong's back, letting his fingers run over the smooth skin while asking if the latter felt any pain. Youngjo could basically hear the eye-roll in Hwanwoong's voice when the other turned around to tell him that he was fine.

“Just let me check out the rest really quick and then I won't bother you anymore.”

“I hope that's a promise Hyung.” Hwanwoong sighed and let himself be examined again.

Youngjo reached for Hwanwoong's arm and looked at the boys side again, checking if there were more bruises but with exception of the one from before that side looked fine.

“Hyung, that's enough.”

Hwanwoong laughed and pulled his arm away. He tried again putting his shirt on but Youngjo stopped him.

“I haven't checked your other side Woongie, would you just stand still for a second.”

Hwanwoong rolled his eyes at the motherly scolding but let his other arm being taken in Youngjo's hand in order to inspect his other side. Young's eyes scanned again over the thin body in front of him but couldn't find anything suspicious. Still, he felt the urge to check properly and prodded with his index finger at Hwanwoongs rib in the height where he had the bruise of the other side. Hwanwoong squirmed at the touch and Youngjo was afraid he had hurt the other boy when his hand was slapped away.

“That tickles Hyung, I am starting to think you just want to annoy me and don't check on me.”

Youngjo smiled at Hwanwoong's playful scolding while the latter finally pulled the shirt over his head. The shirt was way too big on him and fell loosely down on his body. Youngjo caught a glimpse of Hwanwoong's collarbone and he wondered himself after taking his eyes away from it why his eyes had wandered there in the first place.

“Is that Geonhak's shirt?”

Hwanwoong held a finger against his lip and winked at him with a smile.

“Pssst, that's a secret.”

Youngjo felt the heat run into his face and quickly turned away to hide his flushed face. He picked up the drink from the bedside table, his heart still beating faster than it should. He took in a deep breath, collecting himself before he turned around and handed Hwanwoong the glass.

“I saw that in the store and, well I thought you might want it since you have been speaking about it a lot the last few days.”

“Oh, thank you Hyungie, I was about to buy myself some tomorrow.”  
  
Youngjo would have to talk to their manager that there was something wrong with the light in their room. As soon as Hwanwoong smiled at him before setting his lips on the glass Youngjo could swear the room got brighter and his eyes couldn't handle it. He watched how Hwanwoong downed the drink. His eyes fell on Hwanwoong's lips which were shining from being slightly wet and Youngjo wondered if they always looked this plump, soft and full of color.

“Thanks to Seoho Hyung your pillow got dirty too, but I think manager hyung has a spare one.” Youngjo snapped out of his trance and his eyes rushed upwards to meet Hwanwoong's.

“I'll see if I can get you a pillow.”

With that Hwanwoong left Youngjo alone, who used the time to change into his pyjamas. He sat down on Hwanwoongs bed and waited a few minutes until the other boy slipped into the room again, proudly holding a pillow in his hand. Youngjo couldn't help but smile. Hwanwoong looked way too adorable while wearing only shorts and Geonhaks shirt which was a few sizes too large on him, smiling brightly and hugging the newly obtained pillow to his chest. He looked so small and soft that Youngjo had to control himself to not stand up and just hug the boy.

Youngjo took the pillow and laid it next to Hwanwoong's before they both got out of the room. The others already had started to clean and wash up and Youngjo helped putting the trash away while Hwanwoong joined Dongju in the bathroom to wash up. The tiredness from practicing seemed to slowly kick in as the excitement in the dorm started to die down. After two hours the dorm was properly cleaned up and everyone was laying freshly showered in their beds. Well with exception of Youngjo, who was the last one to step into their room. He saw Hwanwoong's back greeting him, the latter facing the wall and Youngjo wondered if the teen was already asleep.

He turned of the main light off and thanks to Seoho's lamp he found his way to Hwanwoong's bed. He slipped under the covers and was greeted by a pleasant warmth.

“I'm going to turn the light's off now.”

Youngjo nodded to Seoho, who winked at him with a grin before the room fell into darkness. Youngjo shook his head bemused at Seohos antics before letting himself sink against the soft pillow. He was laying on his back and starred into the darkness.

Youngjo could hear Hwanwoong breathing next to him. He could feel the heat radiating from Hwanwoong's back. Youngjo suddenly realized how close they were laying next to each other and he gulped.

Youngjo started to grow nervous and he wasn't even sure why.

He was just sharing a bed with his member.

Nothing would happen.

  
Well, maybe he could actually start hugging Hwanwoong in his sleep but that wasn't something new. He liked hugging things in his sleep and that was a well known fact in their group. But what if Hwanwoong would wake up in Youngjo's arms and feel uncomfortable? Youngjo's skinship hasn't bothered him before but after the last days Youngjo wasn't sure about anything regarding the dancer anymore. He really didn't want to make Hwanwoong uncomfortable. Youngjo actually started playing with the thought of sneaking out to sleep in the living room when everyone else was asleep, when Seoho started speaking, effectively throwing Youngjo out of his rapid track of thoughts that were rushing through his head.

“I'm betting that we get to hear Geonhaks snoring in the next ten minutes.”

“Yah! I don't snore!”

A lighted was switched on and a collective groan went through the room. Youngjo too had to shut his eyes at the sudden intake of light before he could face Seoho. The latter was sitting upright in his bed grinning and looking way too awake for Youngjos liking.

“Yeah, sure Geonhak.” teased Seoho, sarcasm dripping from his words.

A pillow was thrown in his direction but it only hit the frame of Seoho's bed before falling down. Seoho cackled and stretched out his tongue in Geonhaks direction who looked more than ready to pull his Hyung down from his bed. Youngjo couldn't help but grin at his members dumbness. Even thought he was tired and just wanted to sleep, watching his members was funny.

“What are you betting on?” asked Dongju, seeming to have taking interest in the bet. If Youngjo wouldn't now any better he would say that their maknae looked really cute and innocent right now, clothed in cute pyjamas with teddys on it and and a plushie hugged close to his chest giving him a soft image.

“If he doesn't start snoring in the next ten minutes, Keonhee is going to buy chicken tomorrow.”

“What? Why should I buy chicken for any of you? Only over my dead body!”

The next pillow was sent flying towards Seoho and this time it hit its target right in the face.

Keonhee looked satisfied after his throw. He stood up and snatched his pillow from Seohos bed, the latter still looking a bit dumbfounded by the hit and bowed playfully in Geonhak and Dongju's direction who were clapping and congratulating him for his ten point shoot. After Keonhee had laid down again they continued to talk some more but it was mostly Keonhee and Seoho bickering and Dongju throwing some comments in. Youngjo himself was too tired to talk so he just laid on his side and watched chattering. Sooner or later the faint sound of snoring could be heard and Youngjo knew that Geonhak had fallen asleep.

“Let's go to sleep now.”

Keonhee and Seoho looked like they wanted to complain but a glance towards the already asleep or tired looking members was enough to get them to agree. The light was switched off again. Youngjo rolled on his back and closed his eyes. He felt himself drifting of, the darkness around him and the warmth from the body next to him lulling him to sleep. He was so close to fall asleep, when he heard someone talk next to him.

Youngjo was sure he had heard someone calling his name, but he was very tired right now. “I'm probably just imaging things.”, was all he could think before pulling the blanket closer around his body. He felt his body growing heavier and his mind started drifting off again when a movement startled him.

There was shuffling besides him before an arm was pressed against his own, and he heard Hwanwoong sigh in his sleep. Youngjo was laying completely still while Hwanwoong continued moving next to him. The younger boy seemed to feel uncomfortable in the new position as some more shuffling and blanket kicking followed until Hwanwoong was laying on his side, his chest pressed against Youngjo's side, effectively trapping his arm between their bodies. Youngjo was wide awake at this point. His breath hitched when Hwanwoong muttered “cold” right next to his ear, hot breath dancing over his skin and a thin arm sneaked around his waist holding him close.

Hwanwoong wasn't like Youngjo, someone who searched for closeness in his sleep, which made Youngjo wonder why the other was suddenly behaving like this. Youngjo only noticed now how he had hooked a lot of the blanket and wrapped it around himself, and he felt guilty. No wonder that Hwanwoong sneaked closer. He was probably feeling cold since Youngjo stole more than half of the blanket. He slowly lifted his not by Hwanwoong trapped arm and tried to re-arrange the blanket to properly tuck Hwanwoong in.

Youngjo halted in motion when Hwanwoong stirred at his movements. When Hwanwoong was laying still again Youngjo tried again and pulled the blanket some more over Hwanwoong. He was leaning a bit over the smaller boy and had nearly managed to give him enough blanket to properly cover him up when the boy whined in his sleep. Youngjo could swear he heard something along the lines “stupid” and “stop moving” when Hwanwoong's arm that was loosely drooped over his chest pulled him down. Youngjo carefully let himself be pulled down, his shirt riddling up in the process until his back hit the mattress. Hwanwoong shuffled even closer which Youngjo thought wasn't possible but Hwanwoong proved him wrong. The arm that was dropped over his chest wandered down and Youngjo flinched when Hwanwoong's icy hand wandered all the way down to his stomach which was now slightly exposed.

Youngjo prayed that Hwanwoong would move his hand away. He really wasn't a fan of being cold and Hwanwoongs hand felt like he had just taken it out of the freezer. Youngjo took a deep breath before slowly starting to move again. He tried pulling Hwanwoong's arm away from him, saving himself from the cold but Hwanwoong was having none of it. His plan backfired when Hwanwoong whined at being moved and Youngjo, afraid to wake the younger, quickly let go of his arm. Youngjo's eyes grew wide and his breath hitched when Hwanwoong leaned a bit closer and sneaked his hand fully under Youngjos shirt as if it was searching for the heat of his body. He was pulled closer against the other by his waist and Youngjo was sure there was no way for him to sleep tonight. As if an icy hand wasn't enough Youngjo had now a frozen feeling arm laying on his bare skin. And if that wasn't enough already it wasn't just anyone's frozen arm but Hwanwoong's arm. Hwanwoong, who didn't knew about any of Youngjo's struggles, sighed again and murmured something that Youngjo couldn't make out, but he seemed to be content now as the shuffling and moving stopped.

While sneaking his arm around Youngjo Hwanwoong had also managed to lay half on top of him, his head now resting on Youngjo chest and a leg thrown over his own.

Youngjo was staring into the darkness again.

What the heck did just happen.

Yesterday Hwanwoong had stormed out of the room because of him. Now he was laying basically sprawled out on top of him like a second blanket.

Youngjo couldn't believe it. A few hours before he had blushed at the thought of sharing a bed with his crus- Hwanwoong and now Hwanwoong was cuddling with him as if he was some kind of body pillow and Youngjo was afraid that Hwanwoong would wake up by hearing Youngjo's heart beating like crazy inside his chest. Heck, he was even afraid to breathe deeply and wake the younger by the movement. Also, his arm that was trapped under Hwanwoong started to grow numb and Youngjo knew that if he wouldn't move it soon it would start hurting sooner or later.

“Just try sleeping, maybe your arm won't hurt and it just feels a bit uncomfortable for now.” said Youngjo trying to convince himself and closed his eyes again.

After six minutes his arm started hurting.

Youngjo pressed his lips into a thin line as he started growing frustrated. Laying like that really wasn't an option, he needed to get his arm out of that body trap. Youngjo carefully pulled his arm out of its position. He let out a sigh in relief when the feeling came back into his arm. He moved his fingers a bit and let the feeling get fully back when he realized that now, after pulling his arm out, he faced a new problem. Youngjo maybe had saved his arm from being dead in the morning but where should he put it now? His left arm was comfortably laying next to him but with Hwanwoong laying half on top of his right side he couldn't lay his arm down without it being in an awkward angle. The only option would be laying it on top of Hwanwoong's back. But he couldn't do that. Hwanwoong hadn't cuddled up to him because he wanted to. He had been cold because Youngjo had taken the blanket away from him. It wasn't like Hwanwoong wanted to be close to him. What if he woke up with finding himself caught in Youngjo's hug in the morning. He would probably hate it.

Youngjo was so frustrated with himself right now. Why had he been so dumb and hooked the damn blanket? He should just have slept in the living room. This just won't do. He wouldn't make Hwanwoong uncomfortable at any price. If his arm was going to cramp the next morning then he had to suck it up. It wasn't like he had any other options anyway. He could deal with that. Youngjo put his arm next to his head on top of the pillow. It felt pretty awkward, but he had slept in worse positions. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take over.

Youngjo groaned. He felt cold and really wasn't ready to open his eyes just yet. His inner clock told him without having to look at the clock on his night stand that it was way too early to wake up. The soft breathing noises around him only indicated that the other members were still fast asleep. Youngjo shivered a bit and cranked his head to the side in order to lay a bit more comfortable. He was still feeling cold and he shivered a bit.

Youngjo cracked an eye open in order to find the blanket which seemed to have slipped off of him during his sleep, leaving him freezing. He lifted his head a little and looked, his mind still foggy from sleep for the blanket. The sight in front of him made him choke on his spit and he tried really hard to cough quietly in order to not wake the sleeping teen who was still laying half on top of him. Youngjo was sure there had never been a time when he had been awake so fast before.

If Hwanwoong woke up right now then Youngjo would die out of embarrassment. The blanket had indeed been moved from his side and was only covering a part of his legs but that wasn't the main reason for him feeling cold. The real problem was Hwanwoong, or to name it better it was his arm. Hwanwoong seemed to have moved a lot in his sleep, including the arm he had stuck under Youngjo's shirt a few hours before, in order to use his body as his personal heater. Hwanwoong had always moved a lot in his sleep but Youngjo would have never dreamed of anything like this happening.

The arm that had been laying innocently on his waist at the beginning of the night, had wandered upwards and to make it worse Hwanwoong was holding tightly onto the thin fabric of Youngjo's shirt. He had pulled the shirt up to the height of Youngjo's chest next to where his head was laying. Hwanwoong had practically stripped him, the shirt not even covering his damn nipple! Youngjo prayed that no one would wake up soon until he somehow manged to cover himself again.

This looked so wrong seriously.

Hwanwoong was laying with his head half on his shirt and half on Youngjo's bare chest and Youngjo could feel his breath on his skin. He was glad that Hwanwoong wasn't drooling in his sleep but still, how high was the chance of something like this to actually happen? The only comfort Youngjo had, was the fact that Hwanwoong was wrapped tightly in their blanket and was probably feeling cozy and warm right now. He let out a sigh. At least one of them was comfortable. Now he had to worry about how to fricking cover himself before anyone sees them like that or worse, Hwanwoong would wake up and find himself laying on top of a half naked Youngjo.

Youngjo propped himself up on his elbows, carefully to not move too much and was in the middle of trying to calm himself down when the body on top of him stirred. Youngjo's eyes grew wide and his heart rate kicked up. He could slap himself. Him moving around had probably caused the dancer to wake up. He didn't even had the time to worry about Hwanwoong hearing his heart beating like a jack-hammer inside his chest.

“Hyung?”

Youngjo was sure he was redder than a tomato right now. His face was burning and his brain screamed at him to avoid eye contact with Hwanwoong if he didn't want it to be deep-fried on the spot. He felt the small hand untangle from the fabric of his shirt and the weight being lifted off of him. His shirt was pulled down and a hand patted his stomach softly but Youngjo didn't had the time to feel grateful for not being exposed anymore or blush at the little show of affection, since he made the mistake to look up. Youngjo gasped softly as he felt his heart being squeezed tightly in his chest as if someone tried to press it out like it was an orange.

Hwanwoong was holding himself up with an arm on each side of him, basically trapping Youngjo between them and looked at him with sleep clouded eyes. His hair was messy and sticking up on the side where his head had been laying on Youngjo's chest. It still looked incredible soft and Youngjo wanted to run his fingers through it. Just to bring it back in shape of course. Not because he wanted to touch Hwanwoong's hair. That would be weird. His eyes wandered further down and captured Hwanwong's face. The latter's eyes and cheeks were slightly swollen from sleep and Youngjo had the urge to cup those cheeks in his hands and give the boy in front of him a k- his brain definitely got deep-fried right now.

Youngjo quickly directed his eyes away from Hwanwoong's face to prevent any further brain damage even though he was sure that his brain was beyond helping at this point. His eyes darted around in panic to avoid getting more useless thoughts by staring at the beautiful face in front of him, before they looked down which was his next big mistake. Geonhak's shirt was giving Youngjo a generous view on Hwanwoong's body since the latter was still leaning forward on his arms and Youngjo's brain got deep-fried a second time that morning.

He couldn't take it anymore. The strength left his arms and Youngjo let himself fall back onto the bed and covered his face with both hands. His face felt hot under his fingers and Youngjo wished the bed was soft enough to just swallow him and never let him see the light of the day again. He kept laying still with his hands covering his bright red face, but he was sure that the tips of his ears were glowing anyway as they felt just as hot. Youngjo hoped it wasn't bright enough in the room for Hwanwoong see him basically burning in embarrassment. He didn't dare to look at Hwanwoong, afraid to what he would find, if he saw the younger mans expression. So he just kept laying completely still like a coward and cursed his blood for rushing so loud in his ears.

“Hyung?”  
  
The soft voice was enough for Youngjo to slowly spread his fingers, still not ready to completely take his hands away from his face. He glanced through the small crack between his fingers at the boy in front of him who had his head tilted to the side, looking adorably confused and a bit sleep-drunk. Hwanwoong had sat down cross-legged next to Youngjo's side and was rubbing sleep out of his eyes before yawning widely.

“Is something wrong Hyung?”

Hwanwoong smiled at him, his eyes half closed and head still tilted to the side as if sitting upright was too tiring at the moment. Youngjo wanted to hug the boy and lay back down with him, maybe pet his hair and get back to sleep, but then he remembered that now wasn't the time to think about cuddling Hwanwoong. He was still feeling embarrassed about his lov- about his band member sleeping on him while he was nearly half naked and how everything will turn out weird as soon Hwanwoong's brain will process what just happened.

“I'm sorry Hyungie, you must have felt cold right?”

See he was thinking it was weird, and he- wait what?

Youngjo slowly took his hands down and looked with a puzzled expression at the softly from side to side rocking boy. Even while being sleepy, Hwanwoong's habit of moving around on the spot was coming out. When standing the dancer had the tendency to bop up and down on the tips of his heels or toes or swayed with his upper body from side to side. It was adorable to see that even now Hwanwoong did it without noticing it himself. Youngjo had to control his face to suppress the corner of his lips from moving upwards. If not sleeping on top of his half naked Hyung, then creepily being grinned at would disturb the younger boy for sure. Youngjo shook his head as if that would help him clear his messy thoughts and quickly thought of how to answer Hwanwoong's question when the boy beat him to it.

Youngjo let out a surprised “Uuf” when Hwanwoong let himself fall on top of him.

“Don't worry, I'm going to warm you up H-hyung.”

A yawn escaped Hwanwoong while speaking and Youngjo's heart ached at the cuteness. He watched how Hwanwoong blindly and more than a bit uncoordinated patted on top of the mattress in order to find the blanket. Said blanket had fallen down from the bed and from the look on Hwanwoong's fac,e who had his eyes closed again from being too tired, Youngjo knew that it would take some time until the boy would realize that the blanket wasn't actually laying on the bed. Youngjo sighed and his body moved on itself. He heard a surprised gasp coming from the younger boy, when he wrapped and arm around his waist to hold him tightly and keep him from falling down the bed, as Youngjo leaned to the side and grabbed the blanket with his free hand. He pulled the blanket over them and it wasn't until they were laying there for nearly a minute until Youngjo realized that he was still holding Hwanwoong around the waist. Youngjo quickly pulled his arm away from Hwanwoong's back.

Without being held Hwanwoong slipped down from Youngjo and rolled down next to him on the bed. He wrapped his part of the blanket closer around himself before scooting closer to Youngjo. The latter's eyes grew in surprise when Hwanwoong took his arm and used it as a pillow for his head, cuddling up to him.

“The others won't wake up soon, we can still sleep for a bit.” he said with his eyes already closed and it didn't take long until his breath became even. Youngjo looked at the boy sleeping on his arm. He was so confused by Hwanwoong's behavior but right now he was also too tired to actually think too much about it. He was happy to be close with his member and that the other was obviously comfortable around him. He was using his arm as a pillow as if it was completely natural so that should be a sign of Hwanwoong being comfortable around him right? Youngjo was really too tired for this right now. He closed his eyes and let himself drift of to sleep again.

* * *

The second time Youngjo woke up he looked around in confusion as his arm felt numb. When he turned his head to the right he found a fluffy mess of bright colored hair in front of his face. Right, he was sharing a bed with Hwanwoong. A familiar heat rushed into Youngjo's cheeks but he decided to ignore it. Youngjo felt the urge to place a kiss on the soft mob of hair and breath in the scent of the smaller man next to him as said man suddenly turned around. Youngjo's arm screamed at the weight when Hwanwoong re-positioned his head but instead of voicing his thoughts, that Hwanwoong should for the future of his arm take his head down from it, Youngjo's words got stuck in his throat. Dark sparkling eyes glanced up at him from under bright strands of hair and soft plump lips curled into a soft smile.

Youngjo watched how Hwanwoong was parting his lips, about to say something, when he heard someone yawn.

He wasn't sure what exactly had been going on inside his head at that time, but when Youngjo heard Geonhak yawn and the creaking from someone sitting up in their bed his body reacted on it's own. He quickly pulled his arm away and let Hwanwoong's head fall on top of his pillow. Youngjo tried standing up from the bed but his legs got tangled up inside the blanket. Instead of standing up he ungracefully planted face first down from the bed. He could prevent hurting himself by quickly putting his hands in front of him and holding his weight with his arms and let out a sigh of relieve for not hitting his head.

“Hyung? What are you doing?”

Youngjo, with his legs still on the bed and arms holding his upper body up, turned his head in an awkward angle to look at Geonhak who was looking at him from the top of his bunk bed. The rapper had his brows furrowed and the confusion was clearly written over his face. Geonhak let a hand run through his hair that looked like a bird nest and managed to make it even worse but he didn't seem to notice in his sleep-drunk state.

“I got up too fast.”

Youngjo laughed to cover his embarrassment and untangled his legs before finally standing up. He scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly which earned him an even more confused look from Geonhak. Youngjo allowed himself a side glance at Hwanwoong who was watching him, propped up on one elbow with something that looked like a pout on his face, before quickly grabbing the next stack of clothes within reach and slipped out of the room. He fled into the bathroom and quickly locked the door before placing the clothes on top of the toilet. Youngjo grabbed a headband to keep his hair from getting wet and started frantically washing his face. He felt the heat die down when the cold water hit his face and he finally managed to calm down a bit. He felt more awake after drying his face and after having calmed down from embarrassing himself in front of Hwanwoong again, he started with his daily skincare.

While applying moisturizer on his skin, Youngjo looked at his reflection in the mirror. His skin looked good but his expression was troubling him a bit. His reflection looked confused, dark eyes asking questions which Youngjo couldn't find the answer to, even if he wanted to. He felt embarrassed for his actions from a few minutes before. Why had he panicked like that? Was it because of sharing a bed with Hwanwoong or because Geonhak had been awake and could have seen them? Youngjo was confused from his own thoughts. He had cuddled and slept with every member before, and they all were used to sharing beds, so why would he be embarrassed for being seeing cuddling with Hwanwoong? He also felt a bit guilty for handling Hwanwoong so roughly. Hwanwoong pouting had looked cute and the pillow was soft but still having his head thrown around first thing in the morning couldn't be nice and Youngjo nevertheless regretted leaving him like that without apologizing.

He leaned with his hands on the sink and stared into the mirror in front of him as if his reflecting would come to live and tell him what was on his mind. Youngjo just wished to know what was going on inside his head. He thought about waking up with Hwanwoong next to him and how it felt so natural to feel the others' presence next to him. Youngjo turned red at the thought and quickly averted his gaze from the blushing boy in the mirror.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end again. I hope you liked what you read. Feel free to tell me how and if you liked it, I would love to hear your thoughts. See you again at chapter three, Bye bye~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii~ Here we are with chapter three! I really hope you enjoy this chapter and the Dongju Hwanwoong Bromance~~. I am sorry for not updating that quickly. I have school and lot's of stuff to study so I don't get a lot of time to write the past few weeks. This will sadly also be the case for the upcoming weeks since it's exam periode. I still hope you keep being interestet even tho the updates are a bit slow haha.

After finishing his skin care Youngjo turned to the clothes he had grabbed in his hurry, only to discover in pleased surprise that it were his own clothes. He thanked Dongju inwardly for laying his clothes, after washing them, in front of the closet. He slipped into the oversized shirt and his black jogging pants. Youngjo tamed the mess he called bed-hair and put on a few of his rings which he had laying around in the bathroom. He was about to grab the door handle when he heard quick steps in front of the bathroom before someone started to rapidly knock on the door. Youngjo jumped at the sudden noise before opening the door. Faster than he could protest, Youngjo was grabbed by the wrist and pulled out of the bathroom.

“Seoho Hyung come back here!”

Youngjo only had time to register the bright grin with which Seoho closed the bathroom door on him before a body crashed next to him into the door. A fist pounded angrily at the door and Youngjo took a quick step back from Hwanwoong who looked more than ready to jump the next person who got on his nerves. He didn't know what was going on with Seoho and Hwanwoong in the last few days but whatever it was, he was not keen on getting between the two. Youngjo valued his life after all.

After dressing and meeting outside they took the van to get to the salon to get their hair and make-up done. Seoho somehow managed to escape their main dancer and was now filming himself while getting his make-up done. Their schedule for the day was packed full since they were in the middle of promotions. There was an upcoming performance of their title track as well as one extra track, and they had to attend some programs after that. Today would be busy but Ravn appreciated the lack of free time. It means he had something to concentrate on and wouldn't be lost in useless thoughts.

“Hold this for me.”

Ravn raised an eyebrow when an ugly green face with big sad eyes was pushed into his vision. He took the frog plushie out of Xion's hands and send him a questioning gaze.

“Why am I holding Pepe?”

“I'm messing with Keonhee Hyung and you're not holding but hiding him.”

Ravn gave Xion a disapproving stare but the maknae ignored him and watched Keonhee who was searching for the plushie on the other side of the waiting room. Seoho had left his precious frog doll in Keonhee's care since he had some things to talk about with their manager in private. Ravn too directed his gaze at Keonhee who was holding Seoho's bag in Leedo's face who was laying on one of the benches, obviously trying to get an answer about Pepe's absence and Ravn felt bad for Leedo who looked like he just wanted to sleep. Keonhee stomped with his foot on the ground and looked close to throwing a fit but Leedo just turned on his side and pulled the jacket he was covered with other his head.

“Did he eat your snacks again?”,

asked Ravn Xion who was leaning against him from behind. They were still watching Koenhee, who was now asking Hwanwoong about the missing plushie, holding the empty bag in his hand and looking lost. Ravn's lips pulled upwards when Hwanwoong rubbed the sleep out of his eyes while looking up at Keonhee. Hwanwoong too had been sleeping and was now sitting cross-legged on the mat he had been sleeping on while staring up at the flustered teen. Ravn couldn't hear what the two were talking about over all the noise in the busy waiting room, but he could see Keonhee looking even more distressed than before when Hwanwoong showed him an apologetic expression while shaking his head. Ravn was starting to feel bad for Keonhee. Sure, messing with their maknae and his snacks was like asking for trouble, but they all knew that Seoho really loved Pepe and no one would mess with the doll. Keonhee was probably really panicking that he might have lost it. Ravn was about to tell Xion to go and bring the doll back to the still searching teen when a hand grabbed the frog and pulled it down from Ravn's lap.

Ravn looked up and saw a pout on Xion's face when he took the doll out of his hold. Ravn watched with a smile how Xion slowly approached Keonhee who was now sitting next to Hwanwoong, who was comforting him by holding his Hyung in a one sided hug. Hwanwoong might be a lot smaller than all of them, but his hugs always felt the most comforting so Ravn knew Keonhee was in good hands. Xion was now standing behind the pair before slightly bending down behind Keonhee, the taller being unaware of their maknaes presence. Hwanwoong who had noticed the younger walking up to them smiled when he saw the plushie in Xion's arms. The pout was still present when Xion unceremoniously let the doll drop in Keonhee's lap. The blue haired boy gaped at the ugly face and long limbs in his lap before gathering the doll into a fierce hug.

Ravn laughed under his breath when Keonhee laid his head back to look at Xion standing over him before turning around faster than any of them would have expected. He could see Xion's eyes growing wide when he suddenly was pulled into a tight hug. Ravn gave Xion his thumb up when the younger slowly put his arms around his Hyung and returned the hug. Xion was still looking at Ravn as he pointed with a finger at Keonhee, who was unaware of the maknae and their leaders silent exchange, before laying the finger on his lips and tilting his head to the side. His puppy eyes were sending Ravn pleading looks and Ravn only rolled his eyes but nodded. He got the message, he wouldn't tell Keonhee who had kiddnapped Pepe in the first place. Xion owned him one though, big time. Xion grinned at him before focusing back on Keonhee who was now happily putting Pepe in the bag-pack, promising the doll that he wouldn't lose it a second time.

The rest of the day went on rather uneventful. They had filmed in the waiting room to get some behind the scene content for ToMoons before having to perform again. Now they were currently at the last filming site for the day, an interview for a Japanese magazine. During a photo-shoot their pictures for the article have already been taken and the group was sitting in front of the interviewer who was cheerfully writing down some notes, before pressing recording for the audio file to start. The questions were very common. How were the preparation for this album? Were there any difficulties and was there anything they individually wanted to improve themselves on? It wasn't until the interview was about to take an end when Ravn was caught of guard by a question.

“And now to the last few questions which were sent from some of your fans to our magazine.”, begun the interviewer before looking up from his notes.

“So, one of your fans is asking: Are there any particular things or hobbies that you would like to try out in the future? How about you Leedo and Hwanwong-ssi?”

“I'd like to try tumbling like Seoho-Hyung does but it seems a bit hard.” started Leedo with his answer.

“You are very muscular though.”, commented the interviewer encouragingly when Seoho butted in.

“For tumbling you need more than muscles, you don't actually have to be very muscular or strong. Leedo and I did some tumbling in our music video for Twilight-”

The talk about tumbling continued a bit and Youngjo had to admit that he was already at home with his thoughts. He knew he should try to keep focus and be professional but he was so tired from todays tight schedule that he couldn't help but zoom out with his thoughts.

“That sound's very promising. I am sure with Seoho-ssi's help you will learn quickly. We will wait with anticipation for your tumbling in the future Leedo-ssi.”

“Thank you very much.”

Ravn registered how Leedo gave his thanks to the interviewer and his encouraging words and blinked a few times, trying to get a grip and concentrate. His eyes wandered from the interviewer higher up to the clock behind the man and Ravn cheered inwardly. The interview was supposed to end in five minutes. Ravn leaned back in his seat, happy to know that it wouldn't take long anymore for them to get back to the dorm.

“ And what about you Hwanwoong-ssi?”

At the name of his fellow member Ravn directed his attention to the smaller boy to his right. 

“Well,” begun Hwanwoong and out of the corner of his eyes Ravn could see him looking in his direction before licking his lips nervously. Ravn raised an eyebrow in question at the smaller teen but Hwanwoong was already looking back at the interviewer. Ravn couldn't help noticing how Hwanwoong's leg was bopping up and down hastily under the table and his eyebrow rose even higher at that. Had Hwanwoong always been so nervous during interviews? Hwanwoong was normally someone who toke most of the talking parts in interviews and was the one who counted for their introduction. He was a good speaker. Of course he grew nervous at solo schedules like on radio shows without the comfort of the other members presence around him, but he still didn't act as nervous as he did right now. Ravn was a bit confused by the younger mans behavior but nevertheless shuffled slightly closer to the smaller boy, careful to not make any noises with his chair, before laying a hand on Hwanwoong's tight. The movement of Hwanwoong's leg stopped instantly and Ravn petted Hwanwoong leg comfortingly to hopefully lessen his nervousness. For some reason he could feel Hwanwoong's leg tense under his touch but Ravn kept his hand in place. If the other boy needed his comfort than Ravn would give it to him if that could help. If Hwanwoong was maybe just a bit out of it today, than he, as their leader, could at least let him know that he wasn't alone.

“Ehm,” Hwanwoong licked his lips again and Ravn tried to not look at his lips, missing the side glance Hwanwoong was throwing at him before the younger stared speaking again.

“I would like to learn cooking. Right now only Seoho and Ravn- Hyung are the ones capable to cook something you can actually eat.” said Hwanwoong with a small laugh before continuing.

“I would like to cook for the other members too.” he said with a sincere smile which made the interviewer smile in return and quickly jot down some notes.

“That sounds very nice. Is there any particular dish that you would like to learn?”

The interviewer looked up again, pen twitching ready in his hand to take notes and eyes anticipating Hwanwoong's answer.

“Hmm, I would like to learn to cook something easy at first like tomato soup or mala soup.”

“I see, well that's understandable. Is there any other reason you choose these dishes.”

“Eh, no, not really. I- well I just thought they would be easy to learn. There is no particular reasons.” Hwanwoong laughed and Ravn would have got caught by the beautiful smile if he weren't already too surprised by what his brain just had registered.

"Now Seoho-ssi I have heard-”

Ravn completely blanked out while Seoho was being interviewed. He felt like he was dreaming. Did he mishear or had Hwanwoong really just told the interviewer that he wanted to learn two of Ravns favorite dishes? No, it couldn't be, he must have misinterpreted it. Hwanwoong had probably just taken a liking to the dishes since he had often asked Ravn to share some of it with him. Why would he of all things want to learn how to make Ravn's favorite dishes? That was just too far-fetched. Ravn shook his head inwardly at the idea, dismissing the silly thought before focusing back on the rest of the interview. He couldn't help throwing some side glances at Hwanwoong from time to time.

After bidding the interviewer and the rest of the staff goodbye they quickly left the set and walked to the van. Everyone collapsed in their seats and their eyes fell shut. Their manager praised them for their work while pulling out of the parking lot. Youngjo leaned with his head against the head rest and took in the lights passing by, as their manager maneuvered them through the busy city. By the time the car came to a halt near their dorm Youngjo had also fallen asleep. He blinked when cold air hit his face as their manager opened the door of the car and gently shook him awake. The rest of the members slowly got up, and they all shuffled silently into the dorm, everyone beat from the full packed and busy schedule.

When Youngjo finally stood in front of his bed, dressed in his sleeping clothes and done with washing up, a wave of tiredness rolled over him, and he let himself sink down on the soft mattress. His bed felt like heaven as he pulled the duvet up to his nose and breathed in the comforting scent. His eyes felt shut automatically, the shuffling of the other members who were getting ready to sleep not hindering him from slowly drifting off. Youngjo was on the edge of completely falling asleep when he felt the mattress dip next to him. He was too tired to open his eyes, so he just rolled a bit to the side to make place for whoever sat down on his bed.

“Hyung?”

A hand was placed on his shoulder, but he was too tired to open his eyes. He let out a tired noise to let the other person know he was listening and still awake.

“I was visiting the doctor with manager hyung this morning but I didn't have time to tell you what he said. I thought I could tell you now but I see you are very tired. I'm sorry for bothering you Hyung, I'll better let you sleep.”

Youngjo's eyes snapped open when he realized who was sitting on the rand of his bed. He saw Hwanwoong's eyes grow in surprise at his sudden movement before a small smile found its way on the dancers face. Youngjo raised a hand to stifle his yawn before propping himself up on his elbow to get on eye level with the younger man.

“What did he say?”

Youngjo rubbed at one of his eyes, giving his all to keep them open and giving Hwanwoong his full attention. Well, as much attention as he could muster up in his sleep-drunk stage. He smiled when he saw Hwanwoongs eyes lighting up as the younger started talking.

“The doctor said it is just a bruise and looks worse than it actually is. Nothing is broken or cracked, it will just hurt but I can move freely and perform as usual. I got some ointment to apply for the next few days.

The bright smile on Hwanwoong's face was addicting and Youngjo found himself grinning back at the boy. Hwanwoong looked so happy and relieved to be able to perform without any hindrance due to the bruise and Youngjo just couldn't help himself at the sight of the cute teen in front of him. He sat up and cupped Hwanwoong's face in his hands, squishing the soft cheeks of the younger boy.

“Is that so? Our cute Hwanwoongie isn't hurt? Hyungie is glad to hear that you didn't hurt yourself.” he cooed while he continued to squeeze Hwanwoong's cheeks together. He grinned when Hwanwoong pulled at his wrists and a soft pink blush spread over his face, making him look more lovely than ever.

“Ahh, seriously Hyung, you are impossible.” complained Hwanwoong, ears red as ever before he got up with a huff. Youngjo watched with a soft smile how Hwanwoong got up and climbed in his own bed.

“Good night, Woongie.” teased Youngjo and laughed when the younger man shot him a playful glare from across the room. Youngjo laid back down and soon the rest of the members, one after another, came into the room. After some time they were all laying in their beds and got some well-earned sleep.

The week passed by with more tv appearances on music shows as well with filming videos for various channels and photo-shoots.

On Sunday their manager came in with the schedule for the upcoming week. Youngjo was sitting in the kitchen with Seoho, eating some cereal as their manager stepped into the dorm. He looked like he was in a hurry as he handed Youngjo the paper.

“I'm just dropping by, there are some things to talk about in the company but here is the schedule for this week. Please tell the others to be ready at eleven, I will come and drive you to the dance studio.”

When their manager saw the confused faces gaping at him, he gave them an apologetic look.

“I know it is your day off but something came up due to some problems with the time management. We are all sorry, but you will get your compensation for it. I'm going to tell you more about it this afternoon, there are still some things to discuss.”

Youngjo nodded in confirmation, mouth too fully stuffed with cereal to answer, and gave their manager a thumb up. He wasn't that happy with their free day getting busted but what could they do about it. His manager also wasn't happy about it, but he also tried his best to clear things up for them.

Their manager was about to walk out when he turned around again.

“Before I forget it, you have a special performance planned. I know it is a bit sudden but please tell Hwanwoong about it if you want to change some things in the choreography for this performance. The dancing teachers are already contacted, if you have any questions you can ask them. I see you later.”

Before Youngjo could say goodbye, their manager was already out of the door. Youngjo locked eyes with Seoho who just shrugged his shoulders before stuffing his cheeks again, making him look even more like a squirrel. The younger didn't look as troubled by their plans of lazying around today being canceled and Youngjo was really grateful for it. He hoped the rest of the members also wouldn't complain too much about their sudden schedule for today.  
Not that he couldn't understand if they would protest, but it wasn't like any of them could do something about it anyway. It would just drop the mood if they tried. Youngjo took the piece of paper with their schedule and quickly scanned over it. His eyes stopped at the time table for the 31th where their special performance was marked. It was a Halloween performance, the theme was Zombies and Youngjo felt already excited. The song was a nice choice for the performance as it already had a dark vibe to it. He couldn't wait to tell the others, especially Hwanwoong, knowing how eager their main dancer was with trying out different concepts and themes for their performances.

He took another spoonful of cereal before clearing his throat.

“Guy's, come here.”

After five minutes everyone was present in their small kitchen and together they went through the schedule. The other took the news composed which Youngjo was really grateful for.

Just as Youngjo had anticipated, Hwanwoong was instantly excited at the mention of a special performance. The teen pulled at Dongju's arm in excitement and shook it from side to side while talking about the song they would perform.

Their main dancer was still talking about the main points of the song when a frown suddenly clouded his bright face. He stopped pulling on Dongju's arm which earned him a raised eyebrow from the latter and Youngjo pursed his lips at the sight. He didn't like the expression Hwanwoongs pretty face was carrying right now. Youngjo was about to ask what was bothering the boy when Dongju beat him to it.

“Is something wrong, Hyung?”

All eyes were directed at Hwanwoong in an instant as their maknae asked what was bothering their second youngest.

“Well, the song might be old but the choreography is actually pretty challenging if I remember correctly. And we don't have a lot of time...”

“Don't worry, we can do it.”

Seoho patted Hwanwoong's back and smiled up to the boy standing next to him. Hwanwoong sent him a smile and Youngjo inwardly thanked Seoho for chasing away the frown on the younger mans face.

After finishing their breakfast and getting ready for practice they still had some time before their manager would come get them. They used the time to monitor the performance which they would learn for the next few days and Hwanwoong pointed out some difficulties that would come along with it as well as some ideas what they could change. The others also contributed on ideas and by the time their manager came to collect them, they had written down some things to discuss with their dance teachers.

While they had sat on the floor and the couch of their living room with their managers small laptop in front of them, Youngjo's focus on the monitor had broken more than once. He had found his eyes wandering from the monitor with 2P.M performing Heartbeat towards Hwanwoong who was stopping the video at some points and replaying it to ask the others for their opinion on some ideas and to explain some steps. It was fascinating to watch Hwanwoong dance but it was just as nice to see him talk about something that he was passionate about. Youngjo had been smiling at the other without realizing it and it took a pointy elbow pressing against his ribs and a knowing look accompanied by an amused smile from Keonhee to make him register that he had been caught smiling and staring at the dancer again.

Youngjo let out a sigh when he thought back on what happened in the dorm, the embarrassment of getting caught again sinking in, and he slapped his hands in front of his face. Geonhak gave him a curious glance from the side but Youngjo decided to ignore it. Seriously, he should just stop staring so much. But it wasn't as easy as it sounds. How should he prevent his eyes from wandering in the direction of the younger man when they just do it on their own without him noticing it? 

It wasn't like Youngjo was starring on purpose. It was just happening, one moment he was looking at his own reflection in the mirror of the dance studio and in the next he was taking in the sight of Hwanwoong practicing on his own while looking absolutely stunning with his hair ruffled from pushing it out of his face more than once and sweat running down his face, eyes solely focused on his counterpart reflecting back on him.

Youngjo was just glad, that by the count of times he had been caught staring, that it has always been one of the other members and not Hwanwoong himself noticing his wandering eyes. Youngjo would probably faint if Hwanwoong ever find him staring at him and directly address it. The thought alone hurt. Hwanwoong would probably make a joke about it but let's be serious, while the other members, for some kind of reason which Youngjo couldn't seem to grasp, found it amusing, Hwanwoong himself couldn't help but find it weird. There was no other way.

Youngjo winced inwardly and grimaced when he imaged what Hwanwoong would be thinking about him when the boy would notice how Youngjo had been staring at him.

“Hyung? Are you alright?”

Youngjo's head rushed upwards at the sound of the all too well known voice, and he found himself gulping when he came face to face with Hwanwoong. The younger was standing in front of him, a worried expression present on his face.

He was carrying a towel around his shoulders and was busy wiping down the sweat from his face and neck with one hand, the other laying on his hip while he looked down at Youngjo. Youngjo had sat down in a corner of the practice room when their break started, and he had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the other man approaching him. Hwanwoong was still out of breath, chest heaving up and down and his shirt clung to his skin, leaving no room for imagination.  
They had been training for quite some time now and everyone was sitting or laying down on various spots in the room.

Youngjo was too perplexed to give an answer, suddenly being ripped out of his thoughts by the very same person who was the center of everything that was flooding his mind at the moment, making it hard for him to grasp something to hold onto and focus on. He was still sorting his thoughts in order to come up with an answer when Hwanwoong bent forward. Their faces were only inches apart and Youngjo's breath hitched at the sudden infiltration of his personal space. It didn't help at all, that while bending down, Hwanwoongs shirt showed more collarbone than Youngjo was able to handle at the moment. Their eyes locked for a short moment before Hwanwoong stretched out a hand and held it against Youngjo's forehead before laying the other hand on his own.

“Your temperature seems to be normal but maybe we should check it when we are home. Are you in pain Hyung?”

“Wha- Ah no, everything is fine, I mean I feel fine, you don't have to worry.”

“Are you sure?”

Hwanwoong straightened up but there was a frown on his face, showing clearly that he wasn't convinced by his answer. Youngjo let out a sigh of relief when Hwanwoong's face wasn't hovering only a few centimeters over his own face anymore, and he was able to breathe again. This type of closeness had been way too sudden for Youngjo to feel comfortable. He felt a familiar hotness spreading on his neck and face and by now he could understand why Hwanwoong could be worried. He probably looked like a red-faced mess right now.

After assuring Hwanwoong again that he wasn't sick Youngjo slumped back into the wall. He hadn't noticed how tense he got when the other was standing in front of him but now that Hwanwoong made his way over to Dongju who handed him a water bottle, Youngjo felt himself relax again.

“Well, that was smooth.”

Youngjo jumped at the deep voice coming from his left and turned his head to the side. He had completely forgotten that Geonhak was sitting only a few steps next to him. He shoots the smugly grinning teen a glare. Geonhak had probably watched the whole exchange but Youngjo couldn't care less about it at the moment. Geonhak and Keonhee were still convinced that he had a thing for Hwanwoong, and he knew that the two were watching him and Hwanwoong whenever they got closer. Geonhak showed no remorse for teasing him while he stood up. He was still grinning as he stretched his hand out for him and with an eye roll and a sigh Youngjo let himself be pulled up.

After that, they continued with their practice. Youngjo felt himself grow nervous as he noticed how Hwanwoong glanced at him from time to time, checking if he was feeling well, and Youngjo was feeling on the edge with all the attention the other was giving him. When they were finally done practicing they had pretty much the whole choreography internalized but there was still lot of space for improvement, and they hadn't even started with the acting. Youngjo was still satisfied with their achievements for today's practice and their dance teacher seemed to be on the same page as him as he praised them for their effort and the work they got done today before saying goodbye.

While packing his things a hand was placed on his smaller back and Youngjo looked up from his bag. He smiled when he found Hwanwoong standing next to him, the younger looking beat but also pleased.

“How are you feeling?”

Youngjo's smile grew. It was cute how Hwanwoong was so worried about him. His glances during practice had mad him nervous but now Youngjo felt more calm.

“I am fine, there was nothing wrong to begin with. You are worrying about nothing.” he said with a laugh and ruffled Hwanwoongs hair playfully, not caring that it was sticky from sweat.

Hwanwoong swatted his hands away with an eye-roll but grinned back at him nevertheless, relief showing on his features. “We got a lot done today. I saw that we will start recording the song tomorrow, but we have time after that to go through the choreography once more and start to think about the acting.”

“Yes, everyone did a fantastic job today. But you were especially good at leading the dance together with Hyung, thank you for working so hard.”

Youngjo relished the sight of Hwanoongs smile widening at his words and the happy laughter that his compliment brought him. The pinkish blush on Hwanwoongs face and the tips of his ears made him look too cute for Youngjo to handle. He felt his heart swell when the boy in front of him looked up at him with happiness sparkling in eyes.

“Are you two ready to go now?”

Youngjo and Hwanwoong both turned their heads to see Dongju standing at the door of the practice room, ready to switch the lights off. The other members had already left for the car and Youngjo only realized now that he and Hwanwoong still had to pack their stuff.

“Ah, I am sorry we will be ready in a minute. You can go to the car, I am going to lock up.”

“Okay hyung. I leave you two alone.”

Youngjo squinted his eyes at the comment but Dongju was already out of the door before he could say something. He continued stuffing his belongings into his bag and grabbed his bottle. He emptied it quickly before also tossing it into the bag. Youngjo straightened up and pushed his sweaty bangs out of his face with one hand and then threw the bag over his shoulder. He rolled his head back to stretch his neck and let out a satisfied sigh when he felt his tired muscles relax at the movement. 

Youngjo looked around to see Hwanwoong quickly looking down at his own bag and hastily pushing his towel into it before zipping it shut and quickly making his way to the door. Had Hwanwoong been watching him? He was probably still worried on his well-being Youngjo thought, and chuckled at the cute behavior of his younger member. He switched off the lights and stepped out of the room to find Hwanwoong waiting outside, leaning against the wall. The boy was shivering and his breath was visible in the cold air.

“Why didn't you go to the car silly?” scolded Youngjo without any real anger in his voice as he quickly pulled the key for the door out of his pocket to lock the door.

“I didn't want to let you walk alone to the car in the dark.”

Hwanwoong rubbed his arms and jumped from one foot to the other while Youngjo checked if the door was really locked.

“That's nice of you, but you have to think about your own health first. It's too cold to wait here.”

Youngjo turned to the boy and furrowed his brows at Hwanwoongs shivering form in front of him.

“I was waiting for not even one minute Hyung, you are being over dramatic.”

“Well, at least let your over dramatic Hyung care for you and get you to the car.”

Hwanwoong started to protest as Youngjo took his jacket off and flopped it over the his small shoulders.

“Hyung, you just said that I should watch out for my health, but you yourself don't do it, what kind of double moral is this?” whined Hwanwoong and was about to take the jacket off when Youngjo took his hand and pulled at it. Hwanwoong stumbled back into Youngjo's chest and the older used the time when Hwanwoong was too perplexed by the sudden move to grab the younger mans shoulders and turn him around. Hwanwoong looked even more confused by suddenly being spun around and Youngjo smiled at the cute confused expression. He bent down and took the end of the jacket and pulled the zipper up, successfully closing the jacket. 

It was way too large on Hwanwoong but looked adorable nevertheless and Youngjo had to praise himself for his quick action.

“Hyung that's silly, just wear your own jacket, I won't get cold that quickly.” Hwanwoong's hands were already reaching for the zipper but his fingers were numb from the cold, and he fumbled helplessly at the small piece of metal. Youngjo watched Hwanwoong's lousy attempt of taking his jacket off but then decided that he had enough. He grabbed Hwanwoong's shoulders and turned the boy around again. 

Youngjo stepped closer and laid an arm over Hwanwoong's shoulder and took one of Hwanwoong's hands away from the zipper to stop him but Hwanwoong was stubborn. Youngjo rolled his eyes when Hwanwoong still teared at the jacket and then grabbed the boy's other hand with his free hand. He took another step forward until his chest was pressed against Hwanwoong's back before the bent forward to get closer to the other's ear.

“Do I have to hold your hands until we get to the car or will you stop and just wear the jacket? The longer you are complaining the longer I have to stand the cold.”

Youngjo could hear Hwanwoong huff, probably out of frustration, but then the smaller man finally gave in. Youngjo could feel the boy slump against his chest in defeat. Hwanwoong nodded without saying a word and Youngjo let go of his hands. He felt cold with the lack of body heat when Hwanwoong quickly stepped forward, bringing distance between them and Youngjo expected Hwanwoong to start opening the jacket again but the boy made no attempt to do so. 

He wondered if he maybe had been a bit too harsh. He thought that Hwanwoong at least would give a smart comment but Hwanwoong continued to stand there in silence with his back to him. He had been only worried about Youngjo's health in the first place and now Youngjo started to feel bad for the younger. Youngjo bit his lip as slowly waves of guilt washed over him before he took a step forward and put an arm around Hwanwoong's waist.

He felt Hwanwoong raise his head and looked down to see surprised eyes staring up to him.

“Come on, let's go to the car quickly.”

He started pulling the younger with him as he started walking.

He could feel Hwanwoong glancing up at him from the side again, but Youngjo didn't spare him a look as he concentrated on navigating them through the dark to the parking lot where the others were already waiting in the car.

Just before they reached the car Youngjo let go of Hwanwoongs waist and took one of his hands in his own. Hwanwoong looked at him with an unreadable expression and Youngjo swore there was something about Hwanwoong's eyes which caught him by surprise every time he looked into them but he couldn't put the feeling into words.

“I am sorry for earlier," begun Youngjo, a nervous smile playing on his by the light of a single lantern illuminated face. 

"If I have been too harsh then I would like to apologize for it. But as your Hyung I can't just let you walk around in the cold like that. I know you are worried and I appreciate it but my first priority is your health, okay?" he took his other hand to clasp them around Hwanwoong shivering one to warm it up a bit.

Youngjo panicked a bit inwardly at Hwanwoong's expression. He wasn't sure if the other boy was forgiving him or not as he was unable to read his face properly. The dark of the night wasn't helping in grasping the emotions displayed on the beautiful face in front of him and Youngjo quickly tried to think about something to say that would cheer the other boy up. 

"Also, I wasn't even feeling cold on our way back since I had you in my arm after all.”

He licked his lips before flashing Hwanwoong a bright nervous smile, hoping it would reassure the younger on his well-being. He waited for a response from the younger, but the seconds passing by without Hwanwoong giving him an answer felt like hours. Finally, there was a movement and Youngjo felt relief rolling over him as Hwanwoong's lips formed into a small smile.

“I forgive you Hyung. I am also sorry for not bringing a jacket on my own. I forgot it because I was too excited this morning. I should have been more thoughtful.” 

Youngjo felt something spark in his chest as he watched Hwanwoong rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, a habit the dancer had when he was embarrassed, and a sheepish grin slipping on his face. He squeezed Hwanwoong's hand reassuringly, which was feeling less icy by now and showed him a kind smile.

“You don't have to be sorry about being excited. I like it when you're excited. It's cute.”

“Youngjo, Hwanwoong? Is something wrong? Did anything happen?”

Youngjo missed Hwanwoong's response as he turned his head at the voice of their manager calling for them. In his surprise he let go of Hwanwoong's hand. Their manager walked up to them with a worried expression and Youngjo instantly felt sorry for the man.

“No, we are fine, nothing happened. We are sorry for taking so long and making you worry.”

Youngjo bowed slightly to show that he was sorry, followed by Hwanwoong who also apologized for making the man worry.

“I am just glad that none of you is hurt. What took you two so long though?” asked their manager as they walked the last few meters to the car. The door was opened by Keonhee from the inside and their manager shooed them inside.

“We had talked about something and forgot the time. We are sorry for letting you wait.” answered Youngjo as he sat down next to Geonhak who had already pulled his headphones out of his backpack and was searching for some music.

Youngjo rubbed his hands to get rid of the cold before blowing into them but the friction as well as his breath didn't help as much as he hoped. He looked around if there was anything around that could help against the cold.

His eyes feel on Geonhak's hand. The latter's fingers were moving to the tact of the music and Youngjo stared at them a few seconds longer before taking Geonhak's hand in his. He closed both of his hands tightly around Geonhaks. Just as expected Geonhak's hand was warm and Youngjo never wanted to hold the other rappers hand this bad. Said rapper threw him a weirded out look from the side before pulling his hand out of Youngjo's grasp.

“It's cold.” mouthed Youngjo silently and gave Geonhak his best puppy eyes. The annoyance was clearly present on Geonhak's face and Youngjo had already lost hope when the younger laid his hand down between the two of them, not sparing him a glance. Youngjo grinned and took the warm hand in his before giving it a squeeze, whispering a thank you which Geonhak wouldn't be able to hear but could read from his lips. The younger man rolled his eyes while shaking his head slightly before leaning his head back against the head rest. Youngjo watched Geonhak closing his eyes while still holding onto the others hand. He could slowly feel the numbness leaving his fingers, the warmth from Geonhak's hand doing wonders.

“You were standing outside in the cold to talk?” their manager threw Youngjo a surprised expression through the rear mirror as he started the engine.

Youngjo didn't know how to answer and just shrugged his shoulders with an apologetic smile. Their manager shook his head, mumbling something about not being happy to tend sick children, as he drove them back to the dorm.

To their luck neither Hwanwoong nor Youngjo caught a cold that night and the next day they could record the song for the performance without further trouble. After the recording they had a short break to eat something before they went to the dance studio where they begun to work on the acting part and some extras to put into the performance to make it more unique. By the end of the day everyone was tired and with the lack of energy they quietly got back to the dorm.

The next two days carried on with a similar routine. They got their costumes assigned as well as what kind of make-up they would be wearing and in a blink of an eye it was already the 31th. 

They had practiced as much as the short amount of time had allowed them to and Ravn was confident that the performance would turn out good. He knew that the others had practiced, what kind of expressions they wanted to do on their own and even though running into Keonhee bending his arm in an unhealthy way around his neck at three a.m in the morning on his way to the bathroom had unsettled Youngjo a little, he appreciated all the effort they put into their work. 

A quick glance at the clock told him that there were still forty minutes left until they would be called out to get ready backstage. When he turned around Ravn found Xion and Keonhee getting their make-up done. Leedo and Seoho were currently putting on their costumes and Ravn himself got his hair fixed. 

His eyes continued to wander until they landed on Hwanwoong, who was stretching, make-up and costume already on point. When the other turned around and their eyes met, Ravn quickly avoided Hwanwoong's gaze and looked back on the mobile in his hands. He tried to concentrate back on the video of their dance practice, playing on the small device, but it was to no use.

He could still feel Hwanwoong's eyes on him and a quick glance upwards confirmed his feeling as he caught the smaller mans attention on him. Ravn felt something hot curl together in the pit of his stomach as Hwanwoong's eyes lingered a moment longer on him until Seoho took him out of his misery. The black haired boy started talking to Hwanwoong who had no other choice than to drag his eyes away from Ravn and turn to Seoho instead. 

Without the pressure of Hwanwoong's eyes on him Ravn let out a sigh which earned him, a curious look from their stylist as she continued to apply some fake blood on his face. 

After getting his make-up done Ravn couldn't help but being impressed by their stylists work as he viewed himself in the mirror. He should definitely take some pictures later. The hand of their manager on his shoulder was enough for him to know that they should get together and he quickly called the others, who were now ready to go backstage. 

While they stood behind the stage and someone from the staff checked their microphones Ravn's eyes started wandering again. In the dim light Hwanwoong's light-green contact lenses looked more captivating than during their rehearsal on stage. Ravn was reminded of a cat looking at these green big eyes gleaming in the dark surroundings. 

They were called on stage and the cheering of their fans broke Ravn out of Hwanwoongs spell.

After getting into their positions the recording started playing. The performance was really unique with the extra movements they had brought into the dance and the fans were going crazy. With Seoho and Leedo's tumbling the performance ended with the screaming of excited fans who called their names and cheered loudly as they waved them goodbye. 

As soon as they stepped into the waiting room everyone let themselves fall down on a seat or in Hwanwoongs case on the ground to catch their breath. They had lip-synced the performance but the dance had been tiring nevertheless. 

Ravn saw one of their company's staff walk around with a camera and Ravn knew in an instant that they were filming new content for their channel. He watched how the members got interviewed from his spot one after another as he took a few gulps of water, mindful to not let the bottle touch his lips too much and ruin his make-up in the process. 

Hwanwoong was still sitting on the ground as the camera was directed at him and Ravn smiled when he saw Hwanwoong lighting up and waving cutely as he spotted the camera. He continued smiling as he watched the younger being interviewed. 

“Are you satisfied with the performance?” asked the staff Hwanwoong who grinned at the camera.

Ravn felt something clench in his chest as Hwanwoong's expression fell for a short moment. There was a display of different emotion's playing on the dancers face and Ravn was sure he saw disappointment mixed with frustration as well as something else which he couldn't pinpoint as Hwanwoongs expressions changed too quick for him to catch everything.

Ravn continued to watch how Hwanwoong caught himself, quickly being back at being playful and giving the camera a confident nod at the question before a guilty looking smile broke out of him.

“No.” confessed Hwanwoong and shook his head while whining to underline how he wasn't satisfied with their performance but he smiled anyway, his nose scrunched up and Ravn's own lips tugged upwards at the sight. He wasn't happy seeing Hwanwoong overplay his emotions like that but still, Hwanwoong was probably the cutest zombie he has ever seen. Which wasn't really a surprise since he didn't get to see a lot of zombies but he was sure that there also weren't any zombies that could look as cute as Hwanwoong did. 

When Hwanwoong explained that he wasn't satisfied with his acting during the performance Ravn felt sad for the younger boy. Hwanwoong still carried on with the interview, being positive as he explained that they did a better job at the actual performance than during the per-recordings but Ravn knew that under all the playful smiles and whining Hwanwoong wasn't really disappointed in their performance but mostly in himself. 

The dancer didn't talk about being disappointed in them as a group but stating the opposite, telling their fans that they did an even better job than during the per-recording, but when it came to the acting he only talked about himself not doing enough, himself concentrating too much on the dance than the acting which was an important point for this performance and Ravn could feel himself getting frustrated as he watched Hwanwoong talking himself down on camera while trying to play it low by acting cute. 

How Hwanwoong could not see how good of a job he did was a mystery to Ravn. During their monitoring the dancer had been awfully quiet now that Ravn thought back at it. It wasn't new for them to monitor their performance in complete silence as everyone was concentrating on watching out for mistakes or something to improve or just overall see if they did a good job, but something had felt off as Hwanwoong stood next to him, face looking more grim than concentrated and now Ravn knew the reason. Hwanwoong had been frowning at himself, thinking he hasn't done enough. 

When Ravn saw their performance he had been impressed. First of all they all had done a good job if they took in consideration how little time they had to actually prepare for the performance. It had been a messy process with little time to rest and too much dance practices for any of them to feel rested before today, but none of them had complained and everyone had given it their best.

They had received acting lessons before, during the preparation for their second album, and Ravn thought that they all did a very good job in acting at that time. Today they also put the things they had learned during that time to good use while performing their Sunbaenim's song. 

Of course they all feel the need to improve. It was something you need to grow and something to bring you forward and Ravn himself always felt the need to do better, to be better, but he also knew when he did a good job and if he didn't, that there was no use to let it get the better of him. 

What he could take from Hwanwoong's behavior and earlier expressions was that the latter wasn't on the same page as him when it came to that point. Ravn couldn't understand what Hwanwoong was disappointed in, in all honesty. Hwanwoong's acting had been more than good and of course everything always could be better but nobody was perfect. Still, Hwanwoong was someone longing for doing things perfectly but was it really worth always feeling disappointed in himself as a result?

It wasn't the first time that he witnessed Hwanwoong stressing himself because of his performances or his own skills. In their early trainee-days he had often witnessed Hwanwoong looking at the other trainees, eyes flickering with unspoken emotions as they wandered through the room of practicing teens, watching how they danced or listening to their singing and rapping, carefully taking it all in.

At that time Hwanwoong had trained harder than Youngjo had ever seen someone train before, and Youngjo had been really impressed. Whenever Hwanwoong was practicing, he gave it his all and he seemed to be so confident in everything he did, mostly in his dancing but as soon as he stopped his eyes always started roaming over the mass of trainees in the room.

He had been scanning the others with his big eyes, carrying a look so intense, Youngjo thought the younger was trying to catch every single move the others did and at that time Youngjo hasn't been sure if the younger had been analyzing everyone on their skills or was simply curious about how they would do during the auditions.

Then, one day in their old dorms, where they had lived with a bunch of other trainees, Youngjo had stood up in the middle of the night to fetch himself something to drink when he saw the light in the kitchen still burning. He was about to walk in and see who else was still awake at such a late hour, when he heard someone whisper calmly. Youngjo didn't mean to eavesdrop at that time but his curiosity got the better of him. 

He stepped closer, carefully to not make a sound on the old wooden floor and tried hard to catch something of what was happening in the room.

“You are doing great Hyung, don't let something so small take away your confidence. Ow, Hyung! I didn't mean it like that! I mean it doesn't matter what the others say, what is important are your skills and you are one of the best dancers here.”

That was Dongju's voice, that time a trainee who had just joined them. Youngjo had wondered who the until then really reserved and calm acting boy had been talking to. 

“But they are all so tall!” 

Youngjo's eyebrows rose at the voice which undoubtedly belonged to none other than Yeo Hwanwoong. He kept listening to the two younger men talking in the kitchen while leaning at the wall next to the door, arms crossed over his chest while a frown took over his face.

“Just because they are a bit taller,- don't look at me like that Hyung.. Okay some are more than a little taller than you but- don't kick me I'm just telling the truth!”

Youngjo's eyebrows rose even higher at the bickering not sure if he had completely understood what the conversation he had just heard was about. Did the two boys really met in the middle of the night in the kitchen to talk about Hwanwoong's height? 

Wasn't that a bit ridiculous?

Youngjo wasn't sure if something like that was worth wasting precious time to sleep for. They had to train again first thing in the morning and most of the trainees knew better than to stay up late and go to bed as soon as possible, even more with the last auditions being close. 

“I know, I shouldn't think too much about it but there are many of them, who are really good at dancing, but also at singing and they are good-looking too! I am just afraid that if there will be a moment where someone else and I are doing equally good at the audition the other person will be chosen because of their height.”

“Hyung, you are one of the best dancers here, I doubt that there will be someone, who will perform as well as you but don't you think it is a bit ridiculous to think that they won't take you into consideration just because the other person is taller?”

Youngjo thanked Dongju inwardly for speaking his exact thoughts out to Hwanwoong. Who would choose someone just because they are taller?

“Dongju-ah, have you ever seen a small idol? And I am not talking about girls.”

There was a short moment of silence and Youngjo found himself not finding anything to counter in his head. Hwanwoong had a point at that one.

“You are all like at least half a head taller than me. Did you think I wouldn't notice the stares I have been receiving from everyone the first time I stepped into the practice room? I know you all were shocked by my height, expecting someone way taller. You joined later but I know that you were shocked too when you saw me in the dorm.”

Guilt made itself home in Youngjo's chest as he listened to Hwanwoong going on about how everyone acted the first time they had seen him, and he caught himself thinking back at the first time meeting Hwanwoong. The boy was right, his eyes had widened when he took in the small boy stepping into the room, nervously licking his lips, a shy smile present on his face as he bowed to the staring trainees.

As soon as the trainees grew comfortable in the next days some jokes were made about Hwanwoongs height and Youngjo himself had also dropped some comments from time to time. He hadn't thought about how the other boy would feel about the jokes from him and the others as Hwanwoong whined and playfully acted like he was angry, defending himself that he wasn't that small, but he had always been carrying a smile on his face, just taking the teasing without really getting upset.

Youngjo felt bad when the realization hit him that Hwanwoong hadn't taken the teasing lightly but that they all were joking about something which the boy was in fact really insecure about. It was true that Hwanwoong was pretty small for an idol when Youngjo thought closer about it and suddenly he could understand where Hwanwoong's fear and the arguments he had given Dongju a moment before were coming from.

It wasn't the first time that Youngjo had seen looks getting chosen over talent in his time as a trainee. He appreciated Dongju for making Hwanwoong look at his own skills and telling him that he did have the abilities but Hwanwoong was just as aware as Youngjo that skills alone weren't everything. It was cruel to select them because of certain beauty-standards instead of what they were capable of and what they could learn in the future but that sadly was how it worked.

The smaller teen was one of the trainees in their company which had a high chance of debuting soon, but Youngjo could understand Hwanwoong's fear and him being insecure, even though he had lots of qualities which made him more than qualified to be an idol.

He knew that Hwanwoong had participated in a survival show before with some of the other trainees of their company, the experiences he had won there giving him a bit of an advantage at the monthly auditions they had to go through, but there was also the bitterness of not being able to place high in the show. It probably added up to the insecurity the younger had with his height. Youngjo had seen the performances of the show and knew that Hwanwoong definitely had the skills required.

Hwanwoong was good-looking and with some make-up and his playful flirting on stage, Youngjo knew that the younger could make girls, as well as boys swoon over him, but it didn't minder the fact that most idols were at least over 5'7 tall. 

“Still, even with being smaller than the rest of us you are really doing a great job Hyung, I am sure you are worrying over nothing.”

Youngjo knew that the encouraging words wouldn't help Hwanwoong get over his insecurities but at least he knew that the new trainee called Son Dongju was someone Hwanwoong could lean on in the time of need. Youngjo was happy to know that the so well reserved and quiet teen seemed to be really caring once he felt comfortable around someone.

“I just wish the others would stop making fun of me.”

Youngjo bit his lips when Hwanwoong's voice grew smaller with every word, the last bit of the sentence barely a whisper. He heard the sound of a chair scraping over the tiles of the kitchen and Youngjo bend his head lightly to glimpse through the crack of the door. 

Dongju had stood up from his seat and hugged Hwanwoong who was sitting on the kitchen counter, the smaller teens head resting against the younger teens chest as he slumped forward into the embrace.

“The next person who makes fun of you will regret it Hyung.”

A small smile made it on Youngjo's lips when he saw Hwanwoong huffing out a laugh and looking up at a very serious looking Dongju. 

“Ahh, why are you so cute?” asked Hwanwoong with a small smile and with one hand pinched Dongju checks playfully, the younger letting him but not without rolling his eyes at the others childish behavior. Youngjo's smile grew as he watched the younger boys interaction. He had the feeling that those two hit it of pretty well. 

He quickly made his way back into the bedroom to leave the two in private. He felt guilty for eavesdropping but he was glad to know that two were getting along so well. He really wouldn't mind debuting with those two.

To say that everyone was surprised the next day, when the so shy appearing Dongju bit Geonhak, a long-term friend who made it to their company after Youngjo practically begged him to give it a try, after the older threw an arm around Hwanwoong and calling him pocket-sized, was an understatement. 

After that incident the other trainees had tuned down the jokes regrading Hwanwoong's height and Youngjo could see the boy slowly growing more comfortable and a bit happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like usual, pls tell me your thoughts on this chapter as well. All the comments make me really happy and inspire me to write more when I get the time. Please look forward to the next chapters of this story. See you~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I am sorry that you had to wait for another chapter for a while. From time to time there is a lot of stuff to study for and I'd like to keep the chapter lenght and quality thus it needs some time before a new chapter is finished.

Hwanwoong had taken his complex and instead of being scared of rejection, of not fitting into the standard and of not being able to keep up with the others, he had taken his height to gain attention instead.  
  
When Hwanwoong first showed them his own created introduction Youngjo's eyebrows had risen at Hwanwoong, who was pointing out how he was the one responsible for talent and height in their group. As he watched Hwanwoong standing on tiptoes, holding a hand over his head as he said 'height' to make himself bigger Youngjo was left stunned. The introduction itself was clever and nice but the steps Hwanwoong had taken in case of self-development were the real reason Youngjo was left with a big smile on his face.  
  
The other members and the staff had bursted out into laughter, praising Hwanwoong for his self-created introduction. Out of the corner of his eyes Youngjo saw Dongju patting Hwanwoong's smaller back after the other finished, knowing that their youngest and him were aware that Hwanwoong's introduction was more meaningful to the boy than the rest of them could image.  
  
Youngjo was happy to see the younger being content with the reaction he got from the members and their staff. Hwanwoong really seemed to have taken his insecurity and turned it around, using it to point out how unique he is in this line of work, instead of not fitting into a ridiculous norm of a beauty-standard.  
  
At that time Youngjo had been happy that Hwanwoong had won confidence and didn't care about his height as much as he did in the past. The boy even started to make jokes about it himself and Youngjo was impressed about Hwanwoongs growth. Not literally, as the boy was still a small precious bean, but mentally wise.  
  
Ravn broke out of his daydreaming when he heard a gasp followed by something that sounded like someone was half crying and laughing at the same time. He looked up, only to see Keonhee pushing Hwanwoongs arm further down, which the latter was holding in a rather unhealthy looking position, around his neck. Ravn huffed out a laugh at the two boys sitting on the ground of the waiting room, playing around like little children.  
  
He sometimes wondered, how high the mental level of their group would be, if they add up the ages of every member. But at the same time he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know about the outcome. Half of the age would probably come from Xion, the youngest of them acting the most mature, nagging them like he was their mother, but then the next moment he was biting Leedo for disturbing his sleep so... Let's just say that Ravn was sure their age would be pretty low.  
  
While he watched Hwanwoong and Keonhee playing around Ravn couldn't help but think about ways to approach the main dancer who was currently trying to send hand-kisses towards the camera while bending his arm around his neck. Hwanwoong's reaction during the interview was still haunting him, and he couldn't wrap his head around how to approach the other.  
  
Ravn had no problems with saying what was on his mind. Just as he showed his affection towards his members openly he also told them how he felt and asked how they were doing without feeling embarrassed by it. He didn't quite understand what could be so embarrassing about taking earnest interest in how someone close to you was doing. Having an earnest talk wasn't something embarrassing for him. The older members were actually less embarrassed talking about what was on their mind and showing their feelings openly than the younger ones, who sometimes joked about it being cringe-worthy. Well, maybe except for Keonhee, who was probably the softest and most emotional of them all, leaving the two youngest in the position of people in their group who had the lowest tolerance for having an emotional talk about feelings.  
  
What really was bothering Ravn was not that he minded talking about the problems that the other members were troubling with but how he felt insanely nervous at the thought of talking to Hwanwoong. He knew that he should do something as the oldest in their group, but he couldn't shake this weird feeling off. It was like his body knew that something would happen that his brain still had to catch up to and this, out of nervousness growing heaviness in his chest made it hard to concentrate. He was trying to mentally go through a plan about, what to say but everything turned out awkward in his head and not helping with the increasing tension of his nerves.  
  
To be honest he was mostly scared about Hwanwoongs reaction. What if he read too much into Hwanwoong's action earlier and the younger wasn't bothered by anything? Wouldn't he think that Ravn was being overprotective? Or, he might even come to the conclusion that Ravn wasn't satisfied with his performance and was asking Hwanwoong if he couldn't pinpoint the mistakes he made himself. That would be a pretty mean thing to do and Ravn was to 99.9% sure that none of his members would think of him as a person who would pull a stunt like that, but the 0,01% were still gnawing on his conscience. He wouldn't call himself a bad person but there probably have been times when the others have not been happy about his actions even thought no one had ever brought up anything. They probably were too nice for that.  
  
Ravn clasped his hands together and stared at a piece of thread laying on the floor.  
  
It would be easy to let it go.  
  
To not talk to the other boy and just drop the whole thing.

How nice that would be.  
  
A pair of busy feet walked past and the thread got stuck at the wet sole of a shoe, probably carrying it a few meters before it would fall onto the floor again.  
  
Ravn still stared onto the now empty spot in front of him, his eyes not fixating on anything, while his brain was working full-time.  
  
But what, if Hwanwoong really was troubled with something? He should talk and see what he can do to help him, if that really was the case.  
  
But since he had the feeling that Hwanwoong wouldn't bring the topic up on his own, Ravn knew that he had to take the first step and approach the other. He didn't want to just call on him while the other members were present in order to not make Hwanwoong uncomfortable with the attention, even if that means that he had to talk to the other in private.  
  
Ravn felt goosebumps on his arms and a shiver running down his spine even though he was wearing a layered outfit. Seeing Leedo walking around only in a thin shirt did not make it better.  
  
Talking to Hwanwoong.  
  
Just the two of them.  
  
About Hwanwoong's problems,  
  
which might not even exist and if, the latter will probably deny them because he believes that their existence could cause their group inconveniences.  
  
Ravn closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.  
  
That was going to be fun.  
  
He continued to sit on the chair and feel sorry for himself while brooding about what he could say. Should he try to break the ice before getting to the topic or should he just address it right from the beginning? Was there even any ice to break? It wasn't like they were strangers, and he had to search for a reason to engage a conversation.  
  
His head dropped even further down as the invisible weight pulled more and more on his shoulders.  
  
Why did the whole thing had to be so complicated?  
  
Their stylist pulled him out of his misery by calling him to get the outfit for the next performance and to fix his hair, which he had accidental ruined by running a hand through it while he had being deep in thoughts.  
  
He changed into the new outfit before sitting down on his chair again and looked into the make-up mirror as their stylist scolded him for ruining his hair. Ravn apologized, but he could hear in her voice that she wasn't really mad at him, so he took the chance to look away from his own reflection and let his eyes and thoughts roam around freely. His eyes fell on Hwanwoong who got his own make-up fixed on the bench behind him. Ravn watched how another stylist applied new lip-tint on Hwanwoong's lips, a darker shade of red this time, after another had quickly cleaned the fake-blood and redid his eyes.  
  
When one of the stylists stepped by side to get Hwanwoongs costume, Ravn could finally catch a glimpse of the other boys face. He instantly regretted it as Hwanwoong was looking right back at him. Ravn jumped slightly in his seat as he was taken by surprise to meet Hwanwoongs gaze through the mirror and quickly pulled a hand up to cover his mouth and to play it off as a little cough which earned him a questioning look from his stylist.  
  
Ravn felt flustered at the sudden eye-contact but at the same time he couldn't break away. The newly done make-up made Hwanwoong's already captivating big eyes even harder to escape from and Ravn felt like he was getting lost. He knew that he had been caught too many times breaking their eye-contact too soon for it to seem normal. He was trying not to let Hwanwoong feel like he was avoiding him, but staring at each other like this felt just as awkward as suddenly looking away.  
  
Ravn didn't know when him becoming flustered under Hwanwoong's attention had started. Normally, when their eyes meet, Ravn would smile at the other or Hwanwoong would smile first or make a funny face, depending on what the situation was. But at some point, Ravn found himself staring more often at the younger than you would call normal, just watching from the side, whatever the other was doing. He let himself being caught in Hwanwoong's presence more than he liked to admit.  
  
One thing was for sure, since Leedo and Keonhee had told him that he supposedly had feelings for Hwanwoong, the whole thing started getting worse. Whenever Ravn felt Hwanwoong watching him now or when their eyes met without them talking, he felt his heartbeat quicken up, and he became more sensitive with everything he was doing while Hwanwoong's attention was on him. It made it hard to concentrate and Ravn just wished for it to stop. The reaction of his body could have made sense, if there were certain feelings blooming inside him, but Ravn wasn't the protagonist of some clichéd romance story and Hwanwoong wasn't his love interest. He was a precious friend and a member of their group, nothing more and nothing less.  
  
Hwanwoong's eyes were still focused on him and Ravn found himself unable to break away. Wouldn't it look weird if he looked away just now? He didn't want to let Hwanwoong think that he was avoiding him, but he also wasn't sure what to do.  
  
Avoiding.  
  
Not avoiding.  
  
Acting like he got something in his eye?  
  
But then his stylist might worry about him, and he would look like an idiot.  
  
The more seconds passed by with Ravn pondering what to do, the more uncomfortable and silly he felt under Hwanwoong's eyes.  
  
Smile.  
  
Ravn was grateful when this thought suddenly crosses his mind.  
  
It may seem silly because it was such a simple answer to his problem but Ravn had been troubling so much with just thinking about the easiest things while Hwanwoong's eyes were on him, that this thought really came like a blessing.  
  
A smile would be good.  
  
Smiling was something he usually did when they had eye-contact before. It would be better than looking away sudenly. And even more than acting like he got something in his eye. How could he even think about something like that in the first place? It was such a silly idea. It sounded like something Seoho would do.  
  
Yes, he should smile instead.  
  
Smiling was easy.  
  
Ravn swallowed, the choker around his neck was feeling like it kept the air from entering his lungs.  
  
Suddenly smiling didn't feel easy at all.  
  
But he really needed to do something to get Hwanwoong to stop looking at him. He took a deep breath before mustering up his courage to send the boy in the mirror a smile.  
  
Something in Ravn's chest pulled together as Hwanwoong tilted his head slightly to the side after Ravn smiled at him, making him look a little confused.  
  
“Of course he would think it's weird. Oh my god, why did I do that?” cried Ravn inwardly and wanted nothing more than to be swallowed whole by the ground, regretting several life decisions at once when a smile bloomed on Hwanwoongs now completely of fake-blood cleaned face.  
  
At the sight of his smile being returned, Ravn's own smile widened, and he suddenly didn't feel the need of being swallowed by the ground anymore. The moment came to an end when his stylist stepped around him, blocking his view as she stood in front of the mirror.  
  
Ravn's shoulders went down as the tension left him and the stylist did the finishing touches of his make-up.  
  
The next performance started ten minutes later.  
  
After getting back into the waiting room, their stylists were already waiting at the door and put tissues on their foreheads to prevent their make-up getting smeared by sweat. They sat down together to monitor their performance on the big TV across the wall. While the MCs were still talking before introducing their song, Ravn glanced at Hwanwoong to check how the younger boy was doing.  
  
While getting their make-up done, Hwanwoong had acted like his usual self again. But Ravn was worried, if Hwanwoong's mood would drop if he caught himself slacking in the performance.  
  
To his relief, Hwanwoong was looking way better than before. He had a concentrated look on his face but it wasn't grim like it had been when they monitored their first stage. When their performance came to an end, Hwanwoong actually broke out into a smile and looked rather pleased.  
  
Seeing Hwanwoong joking around with Seoho next to him let doubt spring up inside Ravn's head. He was playing with the thought that he might have made a bigger deal out of the whole thing than it actually was.

  
Sure, Hwanwoong's behavior from earlier had distressed him, but now after Ravn didn't saw any more breakdowns of the younger, he doubted if talking to Hwanwoong in private was still necessary.  
  
It had been the last performance for today so after monitoring, they changed into their casual clothes while their stylists collected the stage outfits to put them away. Their manager was already waiting at the door of the waiting room and after everyone put their stuff together they went on their way to the van. Youngjo smiled as he watched Keonhee and Seoho walking next to each other, Seoho carrying his Pepe doll inside his backpack and Keonhee holding his Rayn plushie close in his arms. Geonhak and Dongju were walking in front of them, their shoulders brushing against each other and Youngjo was amazed at the difference of their shoulders. Dongju was slowly gaining a better build with the training and eating more than before but compared to Geonhak he still looked really delicate.  
  
As on clue, Geonhak dropped and arm over Dongju's shoulder and pulled the younger closer. Dongju pinched the older in the side and Geonhak flinched but kept his arm around the younger anyway. Youngjo smiled at them. These two were seriously too adorable.  
  
“I think I forgot something in the practice room yesterday. I'll go there later to get it okay?”  
  
Youngjo raised an eyebrow when he heard Hwanwoong talking to their manager behind him. Youngjo was the last one to walk out of the room after yesterdays practice. He was sure he checked that none of the members left anything behind but maybe he had overseen whatever Hwanwoong had left there. Their manager told Hwanwoong to be careful on his way and handed him the key for the practice room. Youngjo watched from the side how Hwanwoong thanked their manager before letting the key slip into the depth of his pocket.  
  
As soon as they arrived at the dorm, Youngjo was pulled at the side by Dongju who made him clean up. Maybe he should have thrown the empty ramen cups outside after he and Geonhak were done eating but it just had been too much of a hassle. Now he had Dongju watching him clean up though, which felt somewhat wrong.  
  
“Hyung.”  
  
Youngjo turned to Dongju, who sat on the edge of the couch with his legs pulled up to his chest and his eyes on him. Dongju looked adorable with the pink fuzzy socks, gray pajama pants and dark large sweater, which stood in a great contrast to the bright socks. His whole appearances would have looked overly soft, if it wasn't for the annoyance in his eyes and his full lips formed into a pout. Dongju pointed to the ground behind him and Youngjo's eyes fell onto another empty lunch box laying lonely in a corner of their kitchen.  
  
He took the box from the ground and clicked with his tongue when he found a post-it with Geonhak's name written on the plastic cover. He crumbled the little piece of paper in his hand before tossing it into the trash bin and the plastic into a separated trash bag. Youngjo was sure if he didn't separate the trash properly Dongju would make him clean it up again and complain even more, so he didn't even try to get things done quickly but took his time to clean up thoroughly.  
  
Geonhak had been the first to step into the dorm when they came back, Youngjo right on his heels. It felt like the time stopped for a few seconds, both of them scanning the mess they had left in the kitchen after coming home late before Geonhak made a dash in direction of the bathroom. Youngjo was too slow, the lock already clicking before he could lay a hand on the door-handle. He slapped against the door and sighed, cursing Geonhak in his mind before he felt a hand laying down on his shoulder and pulling him around.  
  
Youngjo closed his eyes and an apologetic smile found its way on his face, him being more than aware who the owner of the hand was. The apology was already laying on the tip of his tongue as he came face to face with no other than an annoyed looking Son Dongju.  
  
And that had led him into his current situation of cleaning up behind Geonhak and himself with Dongju watching over him like a hawk from his spot on the couch. Seoho had opened the door of their room once and was about to go out, but as soon as he saw Dongju's expression, his eyes grew wide with fear, and he instantly closed the door again. Youngjo congratulated Seoho for his quick reaction. At least two of them had managed to escape their maknaes distaste against untidiness.  
  
When he finally cleaned up enough for Dongju to not point out anything else to do, Youngjo let himself fall on the couch with a sigh. He took out his mobile and checked out the likes on his last posts, the only noise in the room coming from the game Dongju was playing besides him on his phone. After some minutes, Youngjo could hear the water of the shower turn off. Geonhak owned him one for leaving him alone with Dongju, was all Youngjo could think of when the bathroom door opening could be heard.  
  
“Yah, Seoho-Hyung.”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
Both Dongju and Youngjo perked up at Geonhak calling for the boy. A few seconds later the door to their room opened and Seoho pecked his head out. He shot them a questioning gaze, but Youngjo just shrugged his shoulders, signalizing that he also didn't know why Geonhak was calling for him.  
  
“Have you seen my dark-blue sweater? You were the last one to wash our stuff right?”  
  
Geonhak came into the living room with a towel around his neck and only clad in a pair of low-sitting gray sweatpants. Seoho jokingly laid a hand over his eyes, acting like Geonhaks sight was too much for his poor eyes, leaving the younger to roll his eyes at his Hyungs dramatic acting.  
  
“Did you look in the corridor? I hung up some things at the clothesline.”  
  
The three of them watched Geonhak turning around to search for his sweater before Seoho let out a surprised laugh, which caught Youngjo's attention.  
  
“Yah, isn't that Geonhak's sweater?” Seoho whisper-yelled with amusement in his eyes as he pointed at Dongju. Dongju had been silent during the conversation and had looked down on his socks, fingers picking at the fabric. Youngjo had forgotten his mere presence but now that he spent a closer look he saw that Seoho had been right.  
  
Dongju was wearing a dark-blue sweater.  
  
And here Youngjo had wondered why it had looked so large on the Dongju when the younger boy was commanding him to clean up the kitchen.  
  
What a genius he was.  
  
“Seoho-hyung! I can't find it.”  
  
Seoho and Youngjo kept looking at Dongju who quietly stood up.  
  
“I have to go.” Dongju muttered and slipped past Seoho, who broke out in a grin which widened when Geonhak came back into the living room, still in search for his sweater. Youngjo couldn't help but smile at the thought of Dongju, probably hiding under his blanket right now. You could never know how Geonhak would react, if he found out that someone was wearing his newly bought sweater. Dongju really seemed to enjoy playing with fire.  
  
The time ticked by with Youngjo sitting on the couch and playing with his mobile. He yawned and stretched before standing up and making his way to the kitchen. The floor felt cold under his bare feet he wanted to go to sleep soon so he didn't care about putting on socks at this point. Youngjo opened the fridge and after a short rummage he grabbed a bottle of orange juice. He was pouring some in a cup when a hand appeared and a second cup was placed next to his own. Youngjo also filled the second cup without turning around to it's owner. The second it was filled, long fingers closed around the cup and took it from the counter.  
  
While closing the bottle, Youngjo turned to the side to see Keonhee emptying his juice in one take, before giving him a thumb up. Youngjo chuckled as he put the bottle back into the fridge and grabbed his own cup. He watched Keonhee sitting down on the couch and then went over to drop next to him. As soon as he sat down Keonhee was already in his personal space, leaning his head on his shoulder.  
  
Keonhee's hair brushed against his neck and Youngjo reached out to brush it to the other side. Keonhee murred at the movement and Yongjo patted his head softly as an apology which made Keonhee snuggle closer into his side. Youngjo took another sip from his cup while looking through his messages when his eyes fell on the clock. It was already nearly midnight, and they had practice tomorrow morning. They should probably start getting ready to sleep soon.  
  
“Hey, Keonhee, you should sleep in your bed.”,  
  
Youngjo chuckled when he saw that Keonhee had closed his eyes.  
  
“Hnnn, I'll go in a few minutes.”  
  
Youngjo rolled his eyes but allowed the tall boy to continue using his shoulder as a pillow. He went back on checking up various messages on his mobile when his eyes fell on the little numbers at the upper right corner of his display. There was an urgent feeling inside him, that told him he forgot something important but Youngjo couldn't remember what it was. He watched the seven turn into eight, into nine and into ten with Keonhees soft breathing accompanying him. The weird feeling in the pit of his stomach grew with each passing minute. He was really tired so maybe that was the reason, why it was so hard to remember.  
  
Another minute passed until it dawned on him and his eyes widened.  
  
“Have you seen Hwanwoong?”  
  
He turned to Keonhee, hoping that he was wrong with the assumption forming in his head.  
  
Him suddenly speaking startled the boy who had fallen in a light slumber and Youngjo felt bad when Keonhee jumped and looked around in confusion.  
  
“What did you say?”  
  
The boy made a circular movement with his head that left his joints cracking at the motion before looking at Youngjo.  
  
“Do you know where Hwanwoong is?”  
  
“He told me that he forgot something in the practice room.”

Keonhee yawned and stretched his arms over his head, then slumped back into the couch before looking at Youngjo.  
  
“Why are you asking?”  
  
Youngjo's brows furrowed as he looked back onto the clock on his mobile. That had been two hours ago.  
  
His lips tightened up into a thin line.  
  
"I'll be back soon. Tell Seoho that I'm out but don't mention it to manager hyung. If he's asking, I'm out for a short walk. Headache or something."  
  
"Hyung? Where are you going? And what do you mean, don't tell manager-nim? Youngjo-hyung?"  
  
Youngjo didn't like leaving Keonhee alone in confusion but he didn't had the time to explain everything as he grabbed his jacket on the way to the door. He grimaced as he put on his shoes, the cold hitting his feet. He should have worn socks.  
  
The air was cold around his ankles and his face and he slightly regretted not wearing socks but the temperature was the last thing he was currently worried about. He laid in a little sprint, his hair getting tousled by the wind. He passed a few little shops and nearly slipped while turning around a corner, the worn out profile of his shoes slipping onto the wet concrete but Youngjo managed to catch his balance and continued hurrying down the streets.  
  
He was such an idiot.  
  
Why was he such a coward?  
  
Youngjo couldn't help but blaming himself as he run the last meters, the company building already in sight. He was pretty sure that Hwanwoong was training like mad right now and not thinking about coming back to the dorm so soon. Youngjo should have known that something like this would happen.  
  
His face and hands felt frozen when he finally reached the company. He was out of breath when he finally walked down the building where the training and practice rooms were located. Youngjo had to stop for a moment to catch his breath. He couldn't believe that he ran half of the way here. With his hands probed on his tights and his upper-body bent forward he tried getting his breath back under control. His heart was still beating fast in his chest as he kept standing bent forward but he lifted his head to scan the doors for any indication of someone still being there. From the outside nothing hinted of anyone staying inside one of the rooms so Youngjo straightened up and walked closer towards the doors. He concentrated as he walked along the wall before he came to a halt at the fourth door and clicked with his tongue when the faint sound of one of their songs reached his ear.

“You are really an idiot.” Youngjo muttered before slowly pulling the handle down and slipping into the room. The sight he found only confirmed his earlier suspicions.  
  
It was warm in the room.

The heater in the corner was turned on and blowing warm air into the practice room, showing that it must have been on for quite some time now since it always needed a bit to heat up the large room.  
  
In the middle of the room was Hwanwoong dancing, just as Youngjo expected. The boy was completely absorbed in his practice that Youngjo could walk over to the speaker where Hwanwoong's mobile was laying next to his bag and put the music on stop.  
  
Youngjo could see the confusion even from standing behind Hwanwoong as the smaller boy came to halt with the sudden stop of the music. It was obvious that his sudden presence startled the boy greatly as Hwanwoong did a little jump at his sight.  
  
“Hyung I-,” begun Hwanwoong to stutter, his eyes darting around in a nervous manner, finger starting to play with the hem of his shirt. “I stayed back to practice a bit more.”  
  
“And why would you lie to our manager, if you just wanted to practice?”  
  
“Because he would say that we shouldn't practice after performing several times a day...”  
  
Hwanwoong's voice became smaller as he speaks while he slowly started facing the floor instead of his hyung. Youngjo could basically feel how Hwanwoong felt guilty and he bit his lip as he felt conflicted. He didn't like seeing the younger like this, didn't like making the other feel bad about practicing, but as the oldest member in the group he had a certain kind of responsibility for the members.  
  
They didn't choose a leader as everyone was looking out for each other and they all together spoke with the company if needed to, but as the oldest, Youngjo still had a special position in the group.  
  
He had to look out for the younger members and remind them to follow the rules they were given. Of course not all rules were reasonable and he knew he tend to overlook some of them, especially anything related to food, but some of them were important to follow. For example like the one Hwanwoong had broken just now.  
  
Youngjo really didn't like talking this way to the members but they had to follow certain rules and if that meant he had to lecture them if they didn't respect them, than there was no way around.  
  
“And why aren't we allowed to practice after having more than one performance a day?”  
  
Youngjo knew that he was pushing it, but he had to make Hwanwoong know where he was coming from. He could see that the younger was starting to feel even more guilty but he needed to make sure that Hwanwoong understood why he was doing this.  
  
“Because we could get hurt, if we train too much.

Hwanwoong looked so small with his shoulders hunched forward in defeat and his head hanging low, Youngjo felt like he had just kicked a puppy. It made Youngjo's heart ache but Hwanwoong needed to understand that pushing himself after the performance wouldn't help. It wasn't like training more would turn back time and made it able for them to perform the song again.  
  
Of course Hwanwoong can feel frustrated and can feel the need to work more to get better, that's how you improve your skills after all, but there wasn't any use of straining your own body for something that was already done. Something you couldn't change.  
  
Youngjo wished that Hwanwoong could see that himself and that he didn't force Youngjo to lecture him in the middle of the night like he had just now. Hwanwoong shouldn't feel bad for such a silly thing as being scolded for practicing too much. He had tried his best and Youngjo felt bad that Hwanwoong himself wasn't satisfied with his work but he has to show responsibility as a member of their group.

It might sound mean to put it this way, but in a group you have to put your own interests second sometimes and to do what is the best for the team. In this case Hwanwoongs own interests could also hurt himself what only added a reason to not overdo it, but Youngjo was also aware that Hwanwoong probably didn't see taking extra practice as a method of fulfilling his own interests but that he was training more for the sake of the group. Hwanwoong as their main dancer saw it as a given to be always on point in case of performance and choreography and being able to lead the others in time of need, even if there had never been a verbal agreement on this. It was like a role had taken on his own after being given the position of their lead dancer. He probably feared that if he wasn't performing well, the rest of the team would suffer from it, thus leading to him taking extra hours in the practice room alone and adding up the hours of dance practices on his personal time-table.  
  
He sighed inwardly as he watched Hwanwoong standing in the middle of the large room looking smaller than ever. His chest was still heaving up and down from dancing and his skin was glistering with sweat.  
  
His chest felt tight and Youngjo wished he could just go and wrap the teen in a hug and forget this whole thing but that wouldn't help any of them. He let run a hand through his already from the wind messed up hair before he walked up to the younger teen until he stood right in front of him.  
  
Hwanwoong didn't look up.  
  
“Hwanwoong-ah.”  
  
Youngjo tried his best to sound kinder than before, not that he had tried to be mean at the beginning but he probably had been a bit intimidating. His soft voice managed to coax Hwanwoong to finally meet his eyes. He couldn't help but swallow when he saw Hwanwoong's eyes carrying a suspicious watery glimmer in them. He knew that he didn't do anything wrong by lecturing the other and that he had to remind Hwanwoong to look out for his own health, but it still hurt, seeing the younger like this because of his words.  
  
“Hey, it's okay.”  
  
He laid a hand down on Hwanwoong's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.  
  
“I am not angry at you and I won't tell manager hyung about it. Just promise me to not strain yourself, okay?”  
  
He watched how Hwanwoong bit on his lower lip which had started shaking a bit before he gave him a curt nod.  
  
Youngjo felt his heart ache when Hwanwoong's gaze fell back to the space between their feet.  
  
Before he knew what he was doing, he had already cupped the younger boy's face in his hands, making Hwanwoong face him. Youngjo was amazed how small Hwanwoong's face was and how it easily fit between the palms of his hands, but he had other things to concentrate on right now.  
  
Hwanwoong's eyes still looked teary but now they were opened wide in surprise and Youngjo for once didn't feel the heat rushing in his head while being so close to the other.  
  
“I know that you aren't happy with today's performance-”  
  
“How do you know?”  
  
It was the first time that Hwanwoong spoke with his voice not being barely a whisper, the shock clearly written on his face.  
  
“I have been watching you.” said Youngjo calmly but regretted the words as soon as they passed his lips. “ _Way to go with not sounding like a creep Youngjo_ ”, he scolded himself inwardly before focusing back on the boy in front of him.  
  
“ _He looks like a deer caught in headlights_ ”,Youngjo thought when he saw Hwanwoong's eyes growing even larger at his answer, but then decided to quickly move on in hope that Hwanwoong wouldn't have time to be weirded out too much.  
  
“As I said, I know you aren't happy about it, and I can understand that you feel disappointed and dissatisfied but I would like to tell you my thoughts.”  
  
Youngjo wasn't even sure what he was currently trying. He had acted on instinct by making the younger face him as he saw Hwanwoongs troubled expression, wanting to comfort him in any possible way, but now with the boy's full attention on him he just started talking about whatever crossed his mind.  
  
“To be honest, while monitoring the stage today I was really impressed. I couldn't take my eyes of you.”  
  
Youngjo kept watching Hwanwoong's face while he was talking, relieved to see that he still had the boy's full attention.  
  
“I know that today wasn't easy for you. It wasn't easy for any of us. We didn't have much time to prepare for this performance but it still turned out well. I am really proud of our members, but I am especially proud of you Hwanwoong. You led us through the practices together with hyung, but you also worked so hard on your own in the little free time you had. It must have been hard on you since you also helped Dongju. You are a really good hyung and a really good dongsaeng.”  
  
Youngjo got slower as he caught himself rambling, and he felt the embarrassment settle in as he noticed that he was just throwing random thoughts at Hwanwoong, instead of concentrating on cheering the other up.  
  
“I am sorry, I was just rambling about what I felt but that doesn't even help you in any way-”  
  
“It does.”  
  
This time it was Youngjo's eyes that widened in surprise. Hwanwoong was smiling softly, the wetness in his eyes gone. The smaller boy lifted his hands and took Youngjo's away from his face. He did not let go of them but held them in his own and looked down on their hands, fingers hooked together.

Youngjo screamed inwardly when he realized that he had been holding Hwanwoong's face all this time and then screamed even more when he felt the little squeeze Hwanwoong gave his hands when the boy started speaking.  
  
“It does help. Thank you for telling me what you think.”  
  
The smile that Hwanwoong gave him when he looked up let Youngjo feel something pull on his insides. 

He grinned back in an instant, loving the sight of Hwanwoong smiling. Hwanwoong really looked the best with a smile after all.

“The next time you feel unsatisfied with your performance, how about you come and talk to me instead of coming here and train on your own?”  
  
Youngjo panicked slightly when the smile on Hwanwoong's face fell. Youngjo quickly squeezed Hwanwoong's hands, hurrying to go on talking as he saw the guilty expression creeping back on the smaller teens face.  
  
“It's not that I don't trust you to train on your own. I just like you to know, that if there is something bothering you, you can always find me or one of the other members to talk about it. But please Hwanwoong, don't push yourself and do this on your own after having a tiring schedule like today. I know you are just trying your best for us and the fans but overworking yourself isn't the answer.”  
  
Youngjo never broke their eye-contact while speaking, hoping it would help to deliver his intentions clearly. He spoke from experience after all. It had sucked when Youngjo himself couldn't train and participate in their schedules after hurting his back. He knew how it was, to feel like he was letting the others down by not being able to attend fan meetings and practice and not being able to perform with the others. He had been able to visit his family, which was nice and all, but on the downside his family had been constantly worried about his health. Youngjo really didn't want any of the members to experience that, if it was avoidable.  
  
“You don't have to do everything alone. We are always here to help. I am always here for you, okay?”  
  
He didn't wait for Hwanwoong's reply but pulled the boy into a hug, partly because he hoped it would give the boy some comfort but also because he felt his own face flush at his last sentence.  
  
Why did he have to say something so cheesy at a time like this?  
  
Everything had went so smooth but then he had to pull something like this. He often made jokes with the members, amused when they showed fake disgusted expressions when he flirted with them and threw some cheesy lines that could come straight of a romance drama into their direction but this right now was a serious situation and not some playing around in the waiting room.  
  
Youngjo wanted to smash his own head against the wall. He could feel Hwanwoong stiffen in his arms and a second later he felt the younger boy's hands pushing against his chest.  
  
Youngjo knew that he should let the boy go, if he was uncomfortable but he also knew that his face was still red and he honestly wasn't ready to face Hwanwoong flustered like this.  
  
Instead of letting him go he only tightened his hold around the boy, pressing him closer against his chest, not caring that the other was drenched in sweat and that Youngjo probably had to take a shower again when they got back. On the other hand, he probably wasn't that better after having run half of the way here.  
  
He hoped that Hwanwoong couldn't hear his erratic heartbeat with the boy's head so close against his chest, but the thoughts were swiped away in an instant when he could feel Hwanwoong's arms slowly, almost hesitantly wrap around his middle, returning the hug. Small hands found hold on the back of his jacket and with the teen so close, Youngjo could feel Hwanwoong letting out a sigh before he leaned more into his arms.  
  
“Thank you, Hyung.”  
  
Youngjo hummed and gave the teen a squeeze as he buried his head into Hwanwoong's neck.  
  
“You don't have to thank me.” he murmured against the fabric of Hwanwoong's shirt before slowly loosening his arms around the younger. He took a step back before laying his hand on Hwanwoong's shoulder.  
  
“Let's go home.”  
  
Hwanwoong's eyes crinkled and even though Youngjo liked the happy expression, he couldn't help but feel his chest clenching at the sight of the bags under the younger teen's eyes which were even more prominent through the smile pulling his cheeks up. As soon as they were at the dorm, he would get the younger to catch at least eight hours of sleep even if that meant to let everyone wake up before Hwanwoong.  
  
Youngjo shooed Hwanwoong to go get his bag and jacket while he turned of the speakers and got Hwanwoong's mobile before waiting for the other at the door.  
  
Youngjo was happy to see that Hwanwoong had learned from past mistakes and was wearing a thick padded coat to fight the cold. He wished the boy had also brought a beanie or something since his hair was slightly wet.  
  
Youngjo closed the door behind them and locked it. The wind was colder than before and Youngjo shivered lightly under his hoodie and his jacket. He maybe should have worn a padded coat too, but he really wasn't a fan of padded coats. They did not look stylish at all and he didn't really had the time to care about the weather when walking out to get Hwanwoong earlier.  
  
A glance at Hwanwoong confirmed his thoughts on his choice of clothes.  
  
Cute but not stylish at all.  
  
He breathed out and watched his breath forming a little cloud in the cold before rising up and vanishing in the dark. Youngjo's eyes wandered further upwards. The sky was dark and with no stars in sight.  
  
Youngjo liked living in Seoul and he was not really someone who was born for the life in a  
  
small town, but he also missed seeing the stars. Thanks to the light pollution it sadly wasn't possible in Seoul. When they had been in Italy, he had been really impressed by the night sky. The scenery at the filming side itself had been really beautiful but as soon as the sun set, the sky had been covered with little shining gems. He had tried to take pictures but his mobile wasn't able to capture them leaving him a bit disappointed.  
  
Youngjo looked forward whenever they got out of Seoul or visited other countries alone for seeing the stars shining down on them. At least they could see the moon even in Seoul.  
  
The upcoming US tour would probably bring similar views of a starless sky but maybe if they go onto a Europe or World Tour, he gets to see them again. Or they could simply drive somewhere outside of Seoul. A world tour would be much cooler though.  
  
A yawn made him squeeze his eyes shut and he blinked at the sudden wetness in his eyes.  
  
“I'm sorry that you had to come and get me. I'm just keeping you from getting sleep.”  
  
Youngjo turned to Hwanwoong who was looking forward and whose nose had become lightly red from the cold.  
  
“Don't worry, it's okay.”  
  
Youngjo cheerfully threw an arm over Hwanwoong's shoulder to lift the other boy's mood and smiled at him when Hwanwoong looked up at him.  
  
“I'm only a little tired and I bet you are too. Just get home, sleep and don't worry. Hyung can live without a few hours of sleep.”  
  
He gave Hwanwoong a little squeeze.  
  
It was weirdly satisfying how his arm fit easily around Hwanwoong's smaller figure, as if he was made for being kept close by Youngjo's side and oh god here it starts again, his thoughts are drifting somewhere they shouldn't.  
  
Hwanwoong looking at him saved him from mentally facepalming himself.  
  
The smaller teen smiled before a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes, his lips curling into a smirk.  
  
“Are you sure? You are old after all.”  
  
“Yah, what do you mean old, I am only a few years older than you!”  
  
Youngjo was about to take Hwanwoong in a headlock but the smaller teen slipped out from under his arm just in time. Hwanwoong quickly run forward and out of Youngjo's reach before turning around, showing a big grin.  
  
“Quite energetic today.” huffed Youngjo under his breath before showing his hands back into the depths of his pockets but smiled a little at Hwanwoong giggling. He rolled his eyes when Hwanwoong laughs, probably amused by Youngjo, who set up an mock annoyed expression, entertaining Hwanwoong's playful mood.  
  
When they reached the dorm, Youngjo felt like his fingers and toes had frozen off.  
  
A short flashback of him and Hwanwoong, standing in front of the training's room hit him and Hwanwoong's voice found its way into his memory. He had scolded Youngjo for not taking care of his own health while worrying about others. Thinking back made him realize that Hwanwoong was right. Maybe he really is a hypocrite. Youngjo glanced back at Hwanwoong, who hid his hands inside the long sleeves of his coat, moving from one feet to the other to try keeping himself warm. Youngjo quickly directed his attention back onto the front door as a picture of a baby penguin crossed his mind. Why did Hwanwoong had to look so cute?  
  
He stretched out his hand and tried to put in the code for the door but his fingers were shaking from the cold and slipped once, leaving Youngjo hoping, Hwanwoong couldn't see the tremor in his movement. He hurriedly begun from the beginning to put the code in, while Hwanwoong was waiting behind him and was now blowing against his hands to warm them up. When finally the little click of the door lock setting back could be heard, Youngjo quickly pressed against the door and held it for Hwanwoong to step in.  
  
The light in the dorm was still burning contrary to what Youngjo had been expecting. He let Hwanwoong walk in before softly closing the door behind himself. Youngjo was pulling out his arm out of his jacket when he heard Hwanwoong clicking with his tongue. He turned around to see the smaller teen fumbling around on his jacket.  
  
“Everything alright?”  
  
He took a step forward to see what was the problem.  
  
Small hands were fighting with the zipper of the coat, the zipper seeming to have hooked itself, leaving Hwanwoong unable to open it. Hwanwoong was pulling the jacket a bit forward to get a look at what could be wrong but he was clearly struggling, the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration as he tried pulling on his jacket.  
  
“Need help?” Youngjo didn't wait for an answer and stepped forward, pulling Hwanwoong's hands away to take a look himself. The zipper had indeed hooked itself and Youngjo furrowed his brows while looking how to get it back working. A light pull and simultaneously pressing the two sides together let the zipper click back into its original position and Youngjo easily pulled it down.  
  
“See, it's working again.”  
  
He smiled at Hwanwoong before turning around to take his jacket, which he had hung up on the door handle. Youngjo took off his shoes and put them neatly next to two other pairs of his outdoor shoes when the floor next to him creaked under nearing footsteps. His eyes wandered over the floor and met the sight of bare feet. A wide black pair of comfortable looking pants with a white stripe on each side followed. Next in his vision was a baby-blue soft looking sweater whose owner had his arms crossed over his chest while leaning against the wall. The posture could have looked intimidating, if the pullover weren't oversized and practically swallowing the person wearing it.  
  
A glance at the side showed Hwanwoong standing awkwardly between the two elder members, his bag clasped in his hands.  
  
“Hwanwoong-ah, go wash up. Seoho and I have to talk for a bit.”  
  
Youngjo sent Hwanwoong a smile, the latter giving him a wary look after glancing from Youngjo to Seoho and back to Youngjo.  
  
“Go.” Youngjo chuckled and took the bag out of Hwanwoong's hands before giving the other a small push, amused that Hwanwoong seemed to be so startled with Seoho's appearance.  
  
Hwanwoong glanced at him a last time before hushing past Seoho and quickly made his way to the bathroom, leaving Seoho and Youngjo standing alone in the entrance. Seoho started speaking as soon as they could hear the door to the bathroom closing.  
  
“Yah. How do you think you are to act like this? You have five seconds to explain yourself. If you can't-,” Seoho took a hand out of his sweater pocket and held it like a gun. He looked down onto his hand and with the other he made a gesture as if he was reloading it. His eyes than came back up to make contact with Youngjo but they were not formed into a smiling half moon like usual but were sending daggers made of ice in his direction.  
  
“- You'll know what's coming for you.”  
  
Seoho had always been unpredictable but getting greeted by a voice imitation of what-ever badass character Seoho had in mind was something new. Youngjo couldn't help bursting in laughter as soon as Seoho ended his sentence. With the sound of his laughter Seoho's expression melted back into his usual mischievous smile and he started complain but couldn't help laughing too.  
  
“Didn't that sound intimidating? Like a real villain? Keonhee praised me for it yesterday.”  
  
Seoho tilted his head to the side as if he was seriously thinking about Keonhee who has lied to him, leaving Youngjo chuckling at the silliness of his members.  
  
“But let's be serious Youngjo-hyung,” Seoho stepped closer and pulled Youngjo closer towards him as he started talking a bit more quietly. “Was it really necessary to be so dramatic?”  
  
Youngjo raised his eyebrows.  
  
“What do you mean with dramatic?”  
  
“Hyung.. you should have seen Keonhee after you were gone. I thought someone died, like, he came to me while I was brushing my teeth and suddenly shook my arm while crying, _“Hyung! Youngjo-hyung just stormed out and told me not to tell manager-nim and I don't know what's going on and it's cold outside and he doesn't even wears a real jacket. Or socks! Hyung, you have to do something!”  
  
_Youngjo snorted at Seoho's very accurate way of imitating Keonhee. He could basically see in front of his inner eye how the lanky teen would have complained and clung to a dumbfounded Seoho who was trying to grasp the situation.  
  
“He shook me out of nowhere, I thought I was going to die by choking on toothpaste. By the way we are running out of toothpaste.”  
  
At this point, Youngjo thought he had adapted to Seoho changing topics in strange ways but he couldn't help giving the other man a slightly weirded out glance, the other either ignoring his expression or simply not registering that he was being judged as he just went on talking.  
  
“I put him down on the couch and tried calming him down so he could tell me what you exactly said to him. But after explaining everything he started fussing around again “ _Hyung this, hyung tha_ t”, I thought my ear would start bleeding any second. “ _Hyung you have to go after him!_ ”  
  
I told Keonhee that you would manage whatever you had to do just fine but he was still worrying so much. After making him understand that it would be useless to go chasing after you he insisted that I had to stay up to wait for you two. I just wanted to sleep!”  
  
At this point Youngjo felt a bit sorry for Seoho, even though the whole Keonhee incident did amuse him a little. The other had nothing to do with the little mess happening earlier and Youngjo could image how tiring it would be having someone as tall and loud as Keonhee cling at you. But Youngjo also felt touched about how worried Keonhee had been.  
  
“At some point, Geonhak showed up out of nowhere and took Keonhee with him. I couldn't understand what he said but Keonhee did calm down rather quickly. But you know what's just ridiculous?”  
  
Youngjo raised an eyebrow in question when he noticed Seoho getting a little worked up in his rambling.  
  
“I thought they would go to sleep and I finally have some peace, while waiting for you two to get back but as soon as they went into the room, I could hear them talking. At some point they even played word solitaire! While I had to wait here. Alone. Not being able to sleep and not allowed to go back into the room. I wanted to play too. I felt like an outcast!”  
  
Youngjo rolled his eyes at Seoho's dramatic display of what had happened in the dorm while he had been outside with Hwanwoong.  
  
“Why were you two even outside?”  
  
Youngjo walked past Seoho and they sat down on the couch, where Youngjo explained the whole thing to Seoho who listened quietly, nodding from time to time while looking at the ground. Youngjo could feel the warmth from Seohos body at the place where Seoho's knee was touching his thigh, the latter sitting cross-legged next to him, lightly rocking from side to side.  
  
When Youngjo was done with his explanation they sat in silence for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo here we are at the end of chapter 4. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment and/or kudo if you enjoyed the chapter. Also pls be safe everyone, bye bye~


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a drill guys, this is really a new chapter haha. Hope you enjoy it and sorry for making you all wait so long for a new chapter. Btw, if you haven't seen it, chapter 1 got proofread and this chapter too is proofread by Cim to provide you guys better reading quality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are ready for some bromance and some speciall guests *pls image Yonghoon winking like the cute idiot he is*

“You know... If I hadn't let it go, then this whole thing wouldn't have happened in the first place.”

Youngjo lets his head hang low as the guilt was growing inside his chest, sitting there like a heavy stone that pushed the air out of his lungs. He did not like to look pitiful in front of his members, but he probably looked as miserable as he was feeling.

He could feel Seoho shifting next to him before a hand was placed on his shoulder. The touch felt warm and comforting, Youngjo was amazed how such a simple touch was enough to lessen some of the weight on his shoulders, even if it was only a little. “Hyung, you are worrying too much. Nothing bad happened, and you are not alone responsible for the health of us all. We should keep our eyes on each other, and we all know that. You have done nothing wrong.”

“Thank you, Seoho-ah.”

Youngjo knew that Seoho was right, but hearing it from someone else was taking some of the burdens off his tired shoulders.

He still felt like it was partly his not looking out while knowing that Hwanwoong had been struggling, but Seoho was right. He couldn't be the one to look after everyone all the time.

He should stop thinking everything that goes wrong was entirely his fault. Now that Seoho mentioned it, Youngjo couldn't help to think that it all was just ironic. He had been lecturing Hwanwoong for practicing too much, but the reason why Hwanwoong had taken it on himself to train more than he should; was only to be better for the team.

Hwanwoong only tried to improve his skills, so he could lead the others better, to give them confidence and to help when it comes to anything related to dancing. But there was no need for him to do so. In their group, nobody has a designated position. They had talked and discussed this matter a lot at the beginning, even before they officially went by the name Oneus. Everyone had shared their opinion until they concluded among themselves, nobody needed a certain position-- as well as their group doesn’t need a leader. They chose to decide matters together, through a democratic way and with that, everyone was equally responsible for failure but also for success.

And that was where it started to get ironic. Even though they all were aware of those facts, Hwanwoong had taken it on himself to stay behind and train more: so he could lead them to do better performances in the future. Hwanwoong was said to be the main dancer, and he was the best dancer in Oneus, but that position itself, had never been officially his. Just like Seoho and Keonhee weren't the main vocals and Youngjo wasn't the leader. The only positions that are 'official' are Youngjo being the oldest and Dongju being the of the group. With those two exceptions, every other position wasn't set. Of course, everyone has something they excel at.

Keonhee and Hwanwoong, for example, were excellent at talking on their group’s behalf: introducing them in shows, leading interviews and most of the time. Seoho was helping them in case of singing related matters as well as stage charisma, as he got the most experience with these. Geonhak and Youngjo would not only help the others in things related to rap, but the younger of the two would also teach Dongju difficult dance moves since he got a lot of skills when it comes to dancing too.

None of them was bound to only be a rapper or a vocal, they weren't limited to stay in these positions, and that was what made their group unique. With this kind of open system, where no one had a real position; they all got opportunities to experiment and try out new things-- if they felt comfortable with it. Of course, they introduced themselves as main vocal, main dancer, main rapper. And it was also stated in their profile. But that was only to make things easier for people to remember them and not confuse anyone. A group with no one having a clear position was kind of unusual.

  
But somewhere along the way, Hwanwoong had introduced as the main dancer and made it his responsibility. Only adding a burden on his he shouldn't have to carry in the first place, but that wasn't where the irony ended. Youngjo himself wasn't any better. He was the oldest, so one would easily think that the role of the leader could be his, but that wasn't the case. Since he was the oldest Youngjo had automatically started to feel more and more responsible for everyone's well-being. Of course, that was nothing bad, it only showed that he cared a lot for his members. But now every time anything happened to one of them, he started searching for the causes of his members being unwell in his actions.

“I can hear you thinking Youngjo. You need to slow this thing down a bit.” Seoho pointed with his index finger at Youngjo's forehead, his eyes narrowing into a line of judgment, making Youngjo emerge of the sea of thoughts he had dived into without noticing. He swatted Seoho's finger away and rolled his eyes at Seoho, who is holding his hand and looking at him in if he just cut his finger off instead of only pushing his hand away.

“You should go to sleep, hyung. You're starting to get grumpy.”

Youngjo rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, and you should sleep too, 'cause you're starting to be even more dramatic than usual.”

“Sorry for acting as any sleep-deprived person would. I could have slept more than an hour ago, but something came between me and my.”

The playful mood was thrown under the bus when Youngjo started to feel guilty again, even if he knew that the younger was only joking. Seoho was right though: the dark-haired man was visibly tired but had to wait for them because Youngjo acted like an idiot. But Seoho also said he should stop blaming himself and god, why do his thoughts have to be so frustrating? He knew that he shouldn't have to, but Youngjo felt the need to apologize again for the inconveniences he had caused his friend.

“I'm sorry, Seoho-ah.”

Seoho, on the other hand, wasn't interested in getting an apology as he cut into Youngjo's words before the older could continue apologizing. He stood up instead and took Youngjo's arm only to pull them up with him. “Stop apologizing and start moving. You have to wash up.”

His heavier growing eyelids and Seoho's pushing from behind made Youngjo trot to the bathroom like a zombie. The floor felt cold under his feet, and Youngjo grimaced slightly as he stepped into something wet. How often had Dongju and Seoho told Geonhak to dry himself properly, and not walk around with his hair dripping water everywhere?

When they came to halt in front of the door, the hands were taken from his shoulders, and Youngjo would lie if he said he didn't miss the warm feeling as they were gone. Before Seoho could disappear into their room, Youngjo reached out and stopped the younger by getting a hold of his sleeve, pulling Seoho back.

“Hmm?” Seoho's eyes widened a bit, obviously taken by surprise to be held back as he waited for Youngjo to speak. Youngjo showed Seoho a little smile.

“Thank you for hearing me out earlier. And thank you for talking some sense into me.” Seoho's eyes crinkled into his trademark eye-smile as he gave Youngjo a small grin.

“No problem, Hyung.”

“Ah, and Seoho-ah.”

“Yes?”

“I don't think you need any beauty sleep.” Seoho's grin grew wider at the compliment, but his eyes turned mischievous as he pulled his arm out of Youngjo's hold.

“Well, you are right about that, but I think you could use some, Hyung.”

“Yah, brat!” Seoho laughed and quickly made his way through the living room, still giggling at his joke before slipping into the room; Out of Youngjo's sight who huffed out an amused chuckle.

He stood now alone in the little corridor, where the bathroom and the room of their manager were located. The door to the bathroom was ajar, but Youngjo gave it a little knock, not wanting to burst in while Hwanwoong was still in there. He heard footsteps and quickly stepped back when the door opened fully.

“I'm sorry if I made you wait.”

The first thing Youngjo's eyes focused on, were Hwanwoong's wet bangs hanging into his eyes. Hwanwoong brushed them back as he gave Youngjo an apologetic smile. _"It would only be a matter of seconds until the strands would be hanging in his face again," thought_ Youngjo, his eyes lingering on the small droplets of water running down Hwanwoong's neck. After showering, Hwanwoong's skin looked even softer than usual. It felt like it was glowing in the dim light of the corridor, and Youngjo felt the urge to reach out and just touch, wanting to confirm how it would feel under the tips of his fingers. He wanted to wipe the little pearls of water trickling down Hwanwoong's skin, and use the chance to run his fingers over Hwanwoong's neck.

Youngjo knew he should stop staring at Hwanwoong's neck as he did.

_"You aren't a vampire, Youngjo. Get a grip,”_ was all he could think but his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own; they are still hovering over Hwanwoong's throat instead of his face.

Youngjo blinked a bit perplexed when suddenly a towel appeared in his view. Hwanwoong unceremoniously wiped the drops away before they could reach the neck of his shirt. The ban of Youngjo's eyes being held captive by the little drops glistering while they danced down Hwanwoong’s skin was broken; he was forced to direct his gaze back on Hwanwoong's face as he could feel the other’s eyes on him. Hwanwoong's eyes were looking straight into his.

There was a short moment where neither of them said anything until Youngjo quickly stuttered a response, he registered it now that Hwanwoong had been waiting for it.

“Ah, it's okay. I don't mind.” Youngjo felt flustered when he saw Hwanwoong looking at him questioningly, his head tilted slightly to the side. “ _Gosh. Why does this suddenly start to turn awkward?”_ Youngjo felt the need to look anywhere else than Hwanwoong's face, so he quickly let his eyes wander down and eye Hwanwoong's outfit instead.

The gray shirt was comfortably hanging down Hwanwoong's small body and the overly large sweatpants he was wearing, only added to the softness the younger was giving of with his appearance. Hwanwoong probably couldn't find his pants and took the next pair available, which seemed to be Keonhee's, indicating by the way the sweatpants were rolled up twice to make it able for Hwanwoong to walk in them without stumbling.

The fuzzy pair of socks seemed familiar too until Youngjo remembered having seen Dongju wear them before. At this point, Youngjo wouldn't even the shirt Hwanwoong was wearing was his own. Had he missed the announcement that everyone was now wearing what they could find instead of the clothes they own? Or was it a thing in the maknae line he hadn't been aware of? He couldn't remember Geonhak and Seoho or himself wearing clothes of the other members, so maybe it is just a thing between the younger members he had not noticed until now. Now that he thought about it more closely, he had seen Keonhee and Geonhak wearing the same purple cardigan before. If he remembered correctly, the cardigan belonged to Geonhak, but the older wasn't normally one to share his clothes. He made a mental note to ask Seoho if he is missing something.

“Are they dirty?”

“What?”

“The pants. You have been staring at them, so I thought there might be something wrong with them.”

Youngjo wanted to facepalm himself right here and now, but he looked up instead to be met with a curious look lingering in Hwanwoong's eyes.

“No, I just wondered whose pants these are.”

“ _Wow, one hell of a clever remark, applause for Kim Youngjo please,"_ thought Youngjo and winced inwardly at his poor answer.

“Oh, well they could belong to someone called Lee Keonhee but let's not mention that in front of him, okay?” The way Hwanwoong held his finger against his mouth and playfully smiled at Youngjo, made the older swallow.

“Yes, of course. Not going to say a thing.” Youngjo decided not to mention that everyone with eyes could tell just from taking a single glance, that those pants weren't Hwanwoong's. He nodded instead--probably a few times more than necessary, in confirmation that he wouldn't say a thing to the right owner of these pants.

Hwanwoong held a hand over his mouth and laughed at him as Youngjo could feel his ears were starting to turn red.

He should take classes like '101 ways to not get flustered easily' or something like that.

“Thank you, Hyung.”

Yeo Hwanwoong's smile did nothing good for his heart or the color of his face.

“ _Okay, this has to stop. Right now.”_ Youngjo needed Hwanwoong to stop smiling at him like that for his sanity.

He grabbed Hwanwoong by the shoulders and pushed him in the direction of their room.

“Okay okay, I'll go to sleep, you can stop Hyung. I need to dry my hair, and then I go to sleep.”

“Make sure to dry it properly.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

Only seeing the back of Hwanwoong's head made Youngjo able to react normally again. He chuckled lightly as he could imagine Hwanwoong rolling his eyes out of the tone he spoke. He watched Hwanwoong who started drying his hairs roughly with a towel, before going back to the bathroom.

He quickly showered and dried his hair before slipping into his pyjamas. As he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, he couldn't help but feel impressed while looking at his reflection. The day had been stressing him out greatly. He was dead-tired and ready to sleep while standing, but he still looked fine. Like really fine. Maybe a bit worn-out but still a 10/10.

Youngjo nodded to himself, content after seeing himself in the mirror. He reached out to grab the next best headband to keep his hair from hanging into his face, so he could go through his daily skincare routine. When his hand came in contact with something unusually soft, he raised an eyebrow. Youngjo took a look at the headband in his hand, only to see that he had got a hold of one of Dongju’s.

It was a white fluffy one with little rabbit ears, and Youngjo stared at it for a moment before simply shrugging his shoulders and putting it on. Looking at himself in the mirror again, he had to admit that it did look cute. Or maybe he was too tired, and his head wasn't working like it should? Well, whatever the case was, it doesn't play a big role; the only thing that mattered was to get done quickly and finally go to sleep.

On his way to the bedroom, he collected the wet towel Hwanwoong had hung up on the door handle and put it in the laundry basket.

When he slipped into the room, Hwanwoong and Seoho were talking quietly.

Youngjo walks towards his bed as quiet as possible, trying not to wake up the already sleeping members. He skillfully avoided stepping on the older tiles of the floor, which could be awfully loud; especially when you tried to be quiet, and made his way successfully to his bed without causing any noises. In most cases, Geonhak wouldn't wake up even if it was loud, but Dongju tends to be a light sleeper as he was sensitive to noises.

Youngjo didn't want to have to deal with a cranky maknae at this hour. He couldn't wait for them to get a new dorm. Not that he didn't like to share a room with his members, but six-man sharing one bedroom could be a bit exhausting at times. Well, their manager had mentioned that they will get a new dorm in the near future, but an exact date hasn't been set yet.

Youngjo was about to fall asleep as soon as he was laying down comfortably. They had changed the bedding earlier that day since it started getting colder, and the feeling and scent of freshly washed sheets was incredibly calming. He wished Seoho and Hwanwoong goodnight and smiled as he received whispered goodnights in return. Hwanwoong and Seoho were still talking softly with each other, mindful of not waking the others, and with their voices in the back of his mind, Youngjo quickly drifted off.

“I want to share a room with manager, Hyung.”

Youngjo turned towards Dongju, who was sipping his second cup of pear juice while using his free hand to play with Geonhak's fingers.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Youngjo could see Keonhee sending Dongju a little glare, but Hwanwoong was holding his wrist and squeezed it before the taller man could say anything he'd later regret.

Their maknae didn't notice Keonhee being upset by his insensitive comment and continued to bent Geonhak’s fingers in various directions. The older one didn't seem to mind his hand being played with as he just continued watching something on his mobile, not even looking up when one of his fingers cracked. The sound made Seoho look up in surprise and search for the source of the noise.

They were all sitting spread around the living room, and partly the small kitchen that was directly connected with it. Keonhee and Hwanwoong were busy heating food up for everyone, while Seoho sat on one end of the couch. Dongju, who let go of Geonhak’s hand for a moment to put his glass down, was sitting on the other side with Geonhak sitting in front of him, the older using Dongju’s knee as a headrest.

The sound of sniffling brought Youngjo's attention back to Seoho, but before he could hand the sick man a tissue, Hwanwoong was already standing next to the sick, and pitiful looking man while throwing a packet in Seoho's lap.

“Thank you.”

Seoho's voice sounded nasal due to his blocked nose, and Youngjo felt sympathetic when he saw Seoho making a face as he blew his nose, which had started turning red from the constant need of having to use a tissue. After finishing, he threw the dirty tissue into the small trash bin that Keonhee had placed next to him earlier, and in which the tissues were starting to pile up. Seoho's eyes were red and even though he smiled when Youngjo and Hwanwoong made jokes, that he didn't need to cry every time he sees Geonhak's face; Youngjo knew that Seoho was feeling miserable in more than one way.

Earlier that day, Songhee-noona had announced that Seoho wouldn't be able to take part in the US tour. They had all been exited for the tour, but the mood dropped as soon as she told them that Seoho needed rest and had to stay in Korea.

Youngjo wasn't sure where Seoho had managed to catch the flu.

He knew that the other had been careful about the cold weather and Seoho had been on a balanced diet, but that wouldn't cause him catching a cold. He had also pondered if Seoho got it from someone else, but Youngjo couldn't remember a time when the younger had been at any place without them, where he could have gotten in contact with someone sick.

Yesterday morning, Seoho had already looked a bit out of it, but during practice, the main vocal had started getting a serve headache; as well as some dizzy spells. The day before he had been sniffling a bit, Keonhee had asked him if he was feeling alright, but Seoho had played it off.

“It's just because of the weather,” Seoho had said with a grin, before blowing his reddened nose and continued walking with a bag of groceries dangling down his arm. Keonhee had turned to Youngjo, who could only shrug his shoulders. Youngjo had taken Seoho by word, his nose running because of the cold wind blowing outside, and continued walking after the raven-haired teen with an unhappy-looking Keonhee trotting next to him.

At some point, Seoho couldn't continue practicing due to the headache and dizziness, and one of their managers took him to the hospital.

The rest of them started practicing again, but they weren't focused, they were waiting for a sign of how Seoho was doing. A few hours later, Songhee-noona came in, but by the look on her face, they were already able to guess she wasn't going to deliver good news. She told them that Seoho has been brought to the dorm as soon as they got back from the doctor. The manager that lived with them in the dorm, had parked the sick adolescent in his room after giving him his medication.

When one of the members got sick, they didn't let them sleep in the same room as the others, to prevent anyone from getting infected. Their manager would usually sleep in the living room during that time.

“Is it really bad?”

Keonhee had his arms thrown over Hwanwoong's shoulder, the smaller patting Keonhee's hand to calm him down, but he looked not less worried than the other 98'er. Youngjo glanced towards Dongju, who had a stoic expression having taken over his soft features, but he could sense the tension in the younger boy, so he walked over and laid an arm over his shoulder. Dongju was instantly shifting his weight and leaned into his side. Youngjo held him close and let the younger lean his head on his chest while listening to their Noona's explanation.

“He caught the flu but actually got lucky. The doctor said that he probably won't have a bad cough since he didn't show any symptoms of it yet and he can take some medication to prevent it from getting there. On the other hand, he has some troubles with a stuffed nose which causes the dizziness as well as headaches, so he has to keep taking his medication and prevent his nose from getting clogged too much. If his nose keeps giving him problems, he could get a sore throat too but let's hope that the medication will do its work quickly and that he will get better soon. As for now, he has no other choice than to stay at the dorm and rest. We asked him if he wanted to go home, but he said he would like to stay in the dorm instead.”

“Will he be alright if we travel?”

Youngjo bit his lip at Dongju's question. From what he could tell, Seoho would probably need a few weeks to recover, but their flight is going in two days. They are having a concert at the end of this week; there was no way that Seoho would take part in this condition.

The apologetic expression of their manager confirmed Youngjo's hunch.

“He won't be fit enough to go with you. It's important to be fully recovered before he starts straining his body again. Traveling alone is too much stress for his body, let alone taking part in holding a concert.”

Youngjo kept glancing towards his members as Songhee-noona explained the situation. Geonhak's expression was cold as he kept listening, while Keonhee being worried was written all over his face. Hwanwoong, similar to Geonhak, had a rather calm look on the outside. But knowing him for quite some time now and being together nearly twenty-four hours a week, Youngjo could sense the emotions boiling in the man. He didn't need to see Dongju's face to tell how the younger was feeling, the tension of Dongju's body in his arms was enough of a sign about what was going on in their maknae’s mind.

“How is he doing right now?”

Songhee-noona turned to Geonhak.

“He already knows that he won't be able to go with the rest of you. The doctor made it pretty clear that he should rest. Of course, he is disappointed, but he understands that it's only for the best and that we can't risk getting the rest of you sick too. Please try to cheer him up when you are back in the dorm.”

“Of course.”

Youngjo had thanked her, and the others bid her goodbye before they made plans for the performances with a member less. They stayed a bit longer at the company to discuss the changes with their dance instructor, who had been informed and came over as quickly as possible before they went on practicing. They only had time to go through some songs, and roughly playing out the changes they had to do. It would be a pain to get the other choreographies down in such little time, but Youngjo was confident that they could pull through even if it was going to be a hassle.

The mood had been low after the announcement but Geonhak, Hwanwoong and Youngjo did their best to calm the other two down and cheer them up, so they could focus on practicing. On their way back, they all had agreed that the top priority at the moment was to cheer Seoho up, but before that, they tried to get Keonhee to calm down first.

The tallest had managed to keep it down during practice: his professional side taking over and letting him focus on the choreography. But after they climbed into the van, he started getting upset again. The members liked to joke about Keonhee getting emotional quickly, but they all knew that they needed a member who was sensitive and empathetic like Keonhee. But sometimes Keonhee worried more than needed.

Dongju had sat next to their noona, who was driving while Keonhee and Hwanwoong sat in the middle row, and Youngjo and Geonhak shared the row behind them. It had started innocently with them discussing what food they should order when Geonhak had asked what would be fine for Seoho to eat. From that, the conversation turned to the topic of Seoho's condition. That had also been the point where it all started going downhill.

Youngjo couldn't remember who commented on hoping that Seoho won't feel too bad about having to stay behind, but it had been the last straw before Keonhee got completely worked up, and trying to calm him down was anything but easy. Youngjo and Geonhak had already tried to explain calmly to him that Seoho would be fine, but Keonhee was still worrying about Seoho's mental condition. Youngjo could see that the rest of them slowly but surely got stressed out by Keonhee's flood of words. Keonhee tended to talk a lot, but being stressed or worried made it even worse. If Keonhee won’t stop talking soon, Youngjo thought he would have to fear about his mental condition too. Youngjo would even go as far as calling it a bit dramatic, but he knew that the younger didn't do it on purpose. Sadly, that fact didn't make it less tiring to listen to the man's seemingly never-ending worries.

  
Youngjo exchanged a glance with their Noona through the rear-view mirror. He understood the look in her eyes, silently questioning if she should step in, but he lightly shook his head. Youngjo liked to let them discuss and sort things out on their own before one of their managers had to step in. He believed that it would be better for their teamwork and help them to be more understanding about each other’s feelings.

But knowing what he was supposed to do and actually doing it was a different matter. Youngjo was honestly lost at this point, not sure how he could approach Keonhee and what to say to make the younger calm down a bit. He could only hope that none of them would snap at Keonhee before they arrived at the dorm. Youngjo himself wasn't sure what to do anymore, he and Geonhak had tried everything they could think of, and they had run out of ideas some time ago. Having given up by now, Youngjo simply stared out of the window and watched people walking in and out of shops along the street: busy talking, looking at their mobile or waiting at a bus stop. All of them wrapped in warm clothes, most of them also wearing scarfs or hats to protect themselves from the cold.

He continued to watch the city when he noticed something.

It was silent. 

Youngjo broke out in inner cheering that Keonhee had finally stopped talking, and he could see that the others were visibly more relaxed too. Geonhak had closed his eyes and was nodding off next to him, and Youngjo saw Dongju leaning his head against the headrest in an angle that told him the younger was already sleeping.

Youngjo also closed his eyes and planned to rest a bit.

The minutes ticked by, and he was really close to the point where sleep would take over, the edges of his consciousness starting to blur. It was only a matter of moments until he would be fully asleep when Keonhee's voices filled the car.

“Hyung must feel so sad right now.”

“Oh god, not again.”

Youngjo would have laughed at Geonhak's muttering when he wouldn't have thought the same thing. He felt a bit bad for what is going through Keonhee’s head. But please for the sake of their ears, he should just stop talking; it was seriously starting to stress him out too. He could see Hwanwoong's hand clench around the armrest, and he feared that this would be the point where one of them snapped. In this case, that person was most likely Hwanwoong, whose grip around the armrest tightened visibly the more Keonhee talked.

The surprise hit him even more when instead of yelling at Keonhee to shut it, Hwanwoong's hand uncurled and let go of the armrest, and he answered Keonhee with a calm sounding voice instead.

“That's why we are going to cheer him up.”

Youngjo bit his lip while watching how Hwanwoong turned in his seat to face Keonhee. He really wasn't ready for anyone to start getting into a fight right now.

“I don't even want to image how Seoho-hyung is going to feel as soon as we are on our way to the US.”

  
  
Youngjo wasn't sure if he was imaging things, but to him, it sounded like Keonhee was close to the edge of having a breakdown. But what worried him more was Hwanwoong's calm expression. Even when Keonhee seemed to completely ignore him or simply being unaware that Hwanwoong was speaking to him—being too caught up in being worried for the fellow main-vocal, Hwanwoong’s expression remained calm.

“Keonhee, calm down.”

“He will be so lonely!”

“Keonhee, just listen for a moment, okay?”

“What should we do if he's here all alone, blaming himself?”

“Yah, Lee Keonhee!”

Three pairs of surprised eyes watched as Hwanwoong reached over and took Keonhee's head, only to pull it to the side, forcing the other to look at him. Hwanwoong was holding Keonhee's head so that they were on the same eye-level, which meant that Keonhee had to bend forward in his seat. Youngjo could see that Dongju, who had turned around in his seat to look at what was happening behind him, was just as shocked as he was by the scene playing out in the middle row.

  
  
Keonhee's eyes were opened wide in shock and Youngjo swear he could see them glistering faintly, but his lips that looked like a fish-mouth, stole the attention. His cheeks were pressed together between Hwanwoong's small hands placed on each side of his face. Being stunned by Hwanwoong suddenly sandwiching his face between his tiny hands, Keonhee could only gape at him, which gave Hwanwoong finally a chance to talk.

“He'll be okay.”

Hwanwoong smiled at him, and Keonhee nodded again before sinking back into his seat. Youngjo watched how Hwanwoong stole a glance at Keonhee, the latter was now staring out of the window. The rest of the ride was spent with making plans on how to cheer Seoho up. While throwing ideas into the middle, Youngjo couldn't help but smile when he noticed how Hwanwoong's hand continued resting on Keonhee's knee.

When they arrived at the dorm, their manager who had brought Seoho to the hospital was already waiting for them. Dongju was the first to go wash up, and the others were cleaning up or either putting their stuff away while Youngjo talked with the man who was standing by the door, ready to go out again.

“Seoho is sleeping in my room right now. I have to go to the company: there are some things that need to be discussed in person. I already ordered some food and put it on the counter; you only have to heat it up again. If Seoho wakes up, he should try to eat something too.”

“Okay, I ask the others if they want to eat now or wait for Seoho to eat together. How was he doing on your way back?”

“He was pretty disappointed, but that was to be expected. He had been really excited for the tour after all. But he knows that the doctor was reasonable and accepted it quickly. I'm sure you all are probably just as disappointed as he is.”

“Yeah, we are feeling sorry for him. Keonhee was very upset on our way back: he's very concerned about Seoho's feelings.”

“As expected of Keonhee.”

Youngjo chuckled at their manager’s comment. He bid the older man goodbye and went back into the living room. On his way back, he nearly stumbled over a pair of shoes that had been carelessly left lying in the middle of the entrance. “ _Kim Geonhak and his damn shoes.”_ Youngjo clicked his tongue. _"I should leave them to be here—but what if someone would trip over them?"_. But he could also imagine the other members not seeing the shoes in time and tripping over them as well. The raven-haired heaves a sigh before picking the pair up and putting them next to the other shoes that were neatly lined up at the wall.

Walking into the living room he spotted their youngest cleaning up. Youngjo really wasn't in the mood to clean up as he was just tired and wanted to take a shower. But Geonhak was currently in the bathroom, and Youngjo didn't have anything better to do at the moment anyway. He also didn't want to risk getting nagged by their maknae again, which would surely happen if the latter found him lazying around instead of helping, so he just started voluntarily to pick up random clothes lying around.

  
  
“Hyung.” Youngjo looked up. Dongju was standing near him and held a to the brim packed trash bin in his direction. Youngjo pulled a grimace.

“Do I have to?”

Bringing the trash out meant he had to walk down several stairs since the elevator was in maintenance and go outside. Not to mention that he also had to take the same stairs back up again.

  
  
“I'm already wearing sleeping clothes; I can't go out like this hyung.” Youngjo spent a closer look on Dongju's outfit after the younger mentioned it. Dongju wore a pair of red jogging-pants that were loosely hanging down his thin legs plus his well-loved white plush jacket, and had the sleeves rolled up to not get them dirty while cleaning. Under the jacket, he wore a large black shirt, that reached to the mid of his thighs. Knowing the clothes of his members pretty well, Youngjo was certain that the black shirt did not belong to Dongju's wardrobe. To him, it looked like it could belong to someone who had a rather large build and a liking for darker clothes, and it wasn't Youngjo's shirt. It was either Seoho or Geonhak's from what Youngjo could tell.

By the whiny sound of Dongju's voice and the way his lips formed naturally into a pout as he spoke, Youngjo knew he was fighting a lost battle. To argue that Dongju had been in a very similar outfit to the convenience store before wouldn't help either. If the younger was being like this, you could try talking to a wall instead, the chance of getting it to answer you was higher than getting Dongju to do something he didn't want to.

“And he calls Geonhakie stubborn,” muttered Youngjo as he took the trash bin out of Dongju's hands and pulled the bag out. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating a little, Dongju wasn't that stubborn.

Youngjo put his shoes on and decided to just go out without a jacket. He would be outside for only some moments: he would survive that in just a sweater. Hopefully.

After closing the door to the dorm, he hurried down the hall in directions of the stairs.

“Oh? Youngjo-hyung!”

Youngjo turned back at the sound of a familiar voice calling out for him, to see Dongmyeong peeking out of the Onewe dorm. The younger was smiling brightly, and Youngjo found his lips form into a smile as he waved back with his free hand.

“Hi, Dongmyeong-ah.”

“You are taking the trash out?” Dongmyeong asked and Youngjo nodded.

“Yes, what about you? Do you need to go down too?”

Something in the expression that was forming on Dongmyeong's face told Youngjo to quickly end the small talk and hurry up to get to the stairs, but he couldn't just turn his back on Dongmyeong and ignore him. He watched how the brunette took a step out of the door, to reveal a dark-blue pyjama and shoes with messily tied laces, but Dongmyeong's sleeping attire wasn't what caught Youngjo's attention. His eyes fell on the stuffed trash bag in Dongmyeong's hand.

Youngjo had a bad feeling about this.

“Hyuuung~”

Dongmyeong's smile was way too happy for someone who looked like he had to bring the trash out.

Youngjo sighed.

He knew where this was going. The half-pleading, half-smiling look Dongmyeong was giving him, told him what the younger wanted. But he wouldn't let himself being used this easily.

Not this time.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Well, at least Dongmyeong had a different way of asking him for a favor than Dongju. Or more precisely, Dongju didn't ask for favors, he just commanded things to be done.

“I don't know, do you?

“Hyung!” Dongmyeong whined at Youngjo's bad joke, and Youngjo felt at least a little satisfaction that he got to tease the younger. He decided to give a real answer this time and started speaking again.

“Is it about walking down together? If so, yes sure, you can join me."

Youngjo mentally gave himself a pat on the shoulder. Judging by the pout which formed on Dongmyeong's face, the younger knew what Youngjo was up to, and he was not amused that his plan has failed right from the beginning.

Maybe it was because Youngjo sometimes called the younger members his babies, or told them he loved them out of the blue. Maybe Dongju had spilled some tea to his twin brother about Youngjo being a bit of a push-over. Or maybe, it was the fact that Youngjo would let his members get away with a lot of things and never get to a point, that you could call angry. But for some reason, Dongmyeong did not give up easily.

With a smile that reminded Youngjo too much of a sly cat in front of its prey, Dongmyeong started talking with a sweet voice.

“Actually, I wanted to ask if you could take this with you.”

The twin held the trash bag in Youngjo's direction and could Youngjo swear he was having a déjà vu. The image of Dongju holding the trash bin, while wearing an expression that stated, 'Do not try to argue with me', appeared in front of his inner eye and Youngjo cried a bit on the inside. The title of a push-over was too fitting at this point.

“Why don't you just join me?”

Youngjo tried not to sound too pleading, but he had to confess that it didn't sound as confident as he wanted. He smiled instead and made a nod in the direction of the stairs, hoping to look and sound at least a little convincing. Dongmyeong's head tilted slightly to the side, reminding Youngjo of one of these judging cat-memes Keonhee liked to use in their chatroom. The look alone made Youngjo feel like he was again, fighting an already lost battle.

“Hyung, look at what I am wearing, I can't go out like this! I still have some dignity! ”

  
  
Okay, now Youngjo was to 98% convinced to live through a déjà vu. Dongmyeong was a bit more dramatic than Dongju though. Giving it a closer thought, maybe he was not a bit more dramatic, he was a lot more dramatic than his twin. Dongmyeong's shocked expression looked liked Youngjo had asked him to walk out of the street and start stripping instead of walking down together.

They didn't get a lot of opportunities to meet the Onewe members because both groups were busy with full packed schedules, but Youngjo couldn't believe he nearly forgot what a drama queen Dongju's older twin brother could be.“You were just about to go down in your pyjamas tho,” said Youngjo, with an eyebrow raised at the poor excuse Dongmyeong was giving him.

“I only did this because Harin-hyung threatened to kick me out otherwise! Please, Youngjo-hyung?”

Yes, definitely a drama queen.

But even though Dongmyeong's excuse was not very reasonable and easy to argue about, Youngjo could feel his defense crumbling.

These damn twins.

Youngjo sighed deeply.

As if Dongmyeong could sense his weakness, a large smile formed on the younger man's face.

At this point, Youngjo knew he had been defeated.

With heavy steps, he walked back until he stood in front of Dongmyeong, whose smile grew radiant and seemed to brighten the whole hallway. “ _Does he have to look so happy about this?_ ” thought Youngjo, Dongmyeong's grin a bit too happy for his taste.

As he stood in front of Dongmyeong, the younger opened the door a bit wider, giving Youngjo a view of the mess of shoes decorating the entrance of the Onewe dorm. And he had thought Geonhak and he were messy. Their brother group was just as unorganized as they are.

“You're the best Youngjo-hyung! I like you way better than Harin-hyung, he's nowhere as nice as you are. Do you maybe want to come to our next practice and try playing the drums?”

The sudden flow of words and Dongmyeong's still present grin overwhelmed Youngjo a little. Before he could decline the offer, Giwook appeared out of nowhere behind Dongmyeong. Giwook was leaning over Dongmyeong's shoulder, and he gave Youngjo a curious glance before looking back towards Dongmyeong, who seemed unbothered by their maknae using his shoulder to lean on.

  
  
Youngjo could see the gears working inside Giwook's head as the younger got an idea of what was going on between him and Dongmyeong.

He watched how a grin formed on Giwook's face, but before he could wonder what the other was thinking about, the younger was already taking a deep breath. Youngjo's eyebrow rose in question at the action. Giwook then turned his head, never leaving his position of half hanging off Dongmyeong's shoulder, and shouted into the dorm.

  
  
“Harin-hyung! Dongmyeongie-hyung just said he likes Youngjo-hyung more than you and asked him to become our new drummer!”

“Yah, Giwookie! Are you insane?”

Dongmyeong pushed Giwook away and held onto his ears as if Giwook's screaming had just damaged his hearing before slapping the younger man on the arm. His offended and shocked face of betrayal was very entertaining, but Youngjo was left no time to be amused as an answer echoed back out of the dorm right away, taking his attention away from Dongmyeong's face and direct it towards Harin's voice.

“Dongmyeong-ah, cook your own food from now on!”

Youngjo chuckled as he heard laughter from inside the dorm, mostly Yonghoon-hyung's, and he could tell Harin wasn't being serious by his tone of voice. It was still fun to see Dongmyeong's eyes growing wide at his hyung’s order. He again slapped Giwook on the arm, who just laughed at his hyung’s displeased expression.

After sending his maknae a glare, Dongmyeong turned around to shout back. “No, Harin-hyung! Don't you remember what happened the last time I tried to cook something? I didn't mean it, you know I love you! Giwook you little- bye Youngjo-hyung, I have some things to take care of and murder someone whose stage name starts with a 'C' and ends with 'ya', like in 'Yah, I'm gonna kick your butt right now',” Dongmyeong continued to ramble after turning back to his hyung at the door.

“Tell Geonhak-hyung he needs a new friend to compose songs with, Cya won't be available anymore after I'm done with him. Thank you for taking the trash out, see you~.”

Youngjo blinked when Dongmyeong winked at him and simultaneously pushed the trash bag into his hands. He watched Cya's eyes growing large and the younger turning to escape into the dorm before the door to the Onewe dorm was shut right into his face. A second later screaming, laughter, as well as the clatter of some pots, could be heard from the inside.

Youngjo blinked in disbelieve as he looked down at the additional trash bag that had been pushed into his arms.

Well, that... had been interesting.

With now two bags of trash, Youngjo made his way down.

When he stepped back into their dorm, Dongju had cleaned the rest of the living room and kitchen and was currently washing the few dirty dishes that were standing in the sink. Youngjo grabbed a towel and started helping the younger again. They worked in silence, Dongju cleaning the plates, chopsticks and glasses one by one, before rinsing the foam off and handing them to Youngjo, who dried them and put them where they belonged.

After the last plate was clean and put away, Dongju sat down on the couch and Youngjo sat in front of him, pulling out his mobile phone and started busying himself with anything he could find. He could hear Dongju shift behind him and curious as he was, he gave a little glance over his shoulder. Dongju had laid down behind him, his head resting on a pillow, which had been laying on the couch, his mobile positioned in both hands.

The comfortable silence was broken after a few moments by Dongju turning on some video, but Youngjo didn't mind the voices and music in the back.

At some point Dongju stood up, complaining about being thirsty and made a bee-line towards the fridge. Youngjo, whose head was leaning against the arm-rest, turned to the side to watch Dongju standing in front of the opened fridge. The younger was obviously struggling to pick whatever contents it held. It looked like he was tempted to grab something but then retreated his hand again, his lips forming into a pout which made Youngjo smile. Their maknae was just naturally adorable.

  
  
  
“Seoho bought it, but Keonhee was the one who asked for it, if I remember correctly,” answered Youngjo, now with his chin leaning on top of the arm-rest as he continued watching Dongju taking the juice out of the fridge.

“Can you pour me some too?”

Dongju narrowed his eyes at his request and pursed his lips, but still pulled out a second glass without a word. The once full bottle was now left with only half of its content, and Youngjo knew that Keonhee would complain as soon as he noticed that his juice had been stolen.

Dongju walked back with the two glasses of juice and handed Youngjo one before setting his own on his lips.

What happened next will never fail to amaze Youngjo. One could claim that it wasn't something that memorable, but Youngjo swore he had never seen Dongju react as fast as he had during that moment.

Youngjo had just taken a sip of his juice, enjoying the cold sweetness meeting his tongue when the sound of a door opening could be heard. He was sitting with his back facing the direction of the bathroom and thus couldn't see who was approaching them, but Dongju was standing in front of him and had a free vision of the bathroom door.

The second said the door opened, Dongju put his glass down in a speed Youngjo had never seen the younger use before and grabbed the black shirt he was wearing. Youngjo could only look at him with both eyebrows raised in question as he watched Dongju stuffing the shirt quickly inside his sweatpants. The younger then zipped his jacket fully up until only the collar of the shirt could be seen.

Dongju took his glass again and started drinking, acting like nothing had happened. It all happened in mere seconds, leaving Youngjo stunned at the speed which Dongju was showing off. Youngjo's curiosity about whom the black shirt belonged to, only grew as he watched Dongju who was trying to suppress his nervousness.

He had a suspicion but still waited in anticipation for the person to walk into the living room. His mouth curved into a smile when Geonhak walked past him, only to come to a halt next to Dongju.

His suspicion had been right.

The older laid an arm around Dongju's shoulder, a grin decorating his features. From the grin alone, Youngjo could tell that Geonhak was in a playful mood and that he was about to bother Dongju. But Youngjo could also sense from Dongju's furrowed brows and little glare the younger was sending towards Geonhak, that the maknae wasn't in the mood to be toyed with.

He could already hear the screaming that would follow soon. 

While taking another sip of his juice, the black-haired man continued to sit in front of the couch and watch the daily bickering between his members unfold in front of him.

“Aren't you hot in this?” asked Geonhak the younger, while tugging lightly at the white plush of Dongju's favorite jacket. Youngjo could understand the question: Dongju's outfit did look like it would get very warm, especially under the thick jacket, but Dongju felt cold easily so Youngjo assumed that even if everyone else would feel hot in those clothes, Dongju would feel just comfy.

“Aren't you cold in this?” asked Dongju in return, eyeing Geonhak who was currently not wearing the warmest set of clothes, an eyebrow raised as he swatted Geonhak's hand away, amusing the older with his action. Geonhak pulled again at the jacket, just to annoy the other, but was soon pleading as Dongju's teeth were biting down onto his index finger.

Youngjo shook his head with a fond smile as he watched the two. There wasn't a day without his children bickering. A chuckle made it past his lips as he saw Geonhak going nearly down on his knees while trying to free his finger out of Dongju's mouth. The man really didn't learn from past mistakes.

After finally freeing his finger, Geonhak reached out to wipe it clean against Dongju's clothes, but Dongju's eyes were shooting daggers, making Geonhak wipe his hand against his own pants instead. This earned him a disgusted expression from Dongju and a somewhat amused but also disgusted expression from Youngjo, but Geonhak didn't seem to care. He was leaning against Dongju's side again, draped over the younger man's shoulder. The latter eyed Geonhak's hand in distrust and Youngjo could read from Dongju's expression alone that the younger was debating if he should let Geonhak have his way or push his arm away.

“I'm fine,” said Geonhak, a late replay to Dongju's question, still grinning while stretching a hand out for Dongju's glass but the younger did a great effort to hold it out of his reach. He pushed against Geonhak's chest to keep the older away from his juice.

“Go away, hyung. Get your own,” scolded Dongju and Geonhak laughed before ruffling Dongju's hair. He was pushed in return, but it only made him laugh more. After nearly getting bitten twice in a span of three minutes, he finally let the younger in peace.

Youngjo watched Geonhak stepping into their room while shaking his head. He shivered just seeing Geonhak's bare feet on the cold floor.

Why did Seoho of all people got sick when they had a baby chick running around with nothing on, but sweatpants and a tank-top in the middle of winter?

“Idiots don't catch colds.”

“Hmm?”

“You asked why Gunmin-hyung got sick instead of Geonhak-hyung. It's because he's an idiot.”

  
  
Youngjo hadn't noticed that he had thought out loud, but burst out laughing at the sudden fire Dongju was spitting, not expecting their maknae to suddenly start roasting Geonhak. Out of the corner, Youngjo saw Dongju smiling lightly, the satisfaction of dissing Geonhak clearly noticeable.

“By the way Dongju-ah, there is something I've been meaning to ask you.”

“Yes?”

  
Youngjo smiled when Dongju's attention was taken from his mobile, and the younger man threw him a questioning look instead.

“Are Geonhak's clothes more comfortable than yours, or is there another reason why you keep wearing them?”

There was a short span of silence in which Dongju just stared down on him, face emotionless before he parted his lips to speak.

“What does one have to do, to have you keep quiet?”

Youngjo laughed at the seriousness with which Dongju asked. He was feeling a bit playful and held his hand in front of his mouth, a gesture he often did when being deep in thoughts and acted as he had to think really hard about Dongju's question. Youngjo could see Dongju rolling his eyes at him, but the corner of his lips were raising slightly, giving his amusement away. Youngjo giggled and received a small slap on the arm for laughing but that only made his grin grew wider before he went back on acting. He put on a concentrated look and pretended again to think deeply about Dongju's question.

“Hmm, how about you get us both a second cup of juice?”

Youngjo smiled when Dongju let his mobile slip back into the pocket of his jacket and picked their cups up without a word. After emptying his second glass of juice, Youngjo only now realized that Geonhak had been the last one to use the shower and that the bath should be free. He stood up and patted Dongju's head on his way to the bathroom, receiving a small grumble from the younger in return.

After showering and changing he walked into the living room, where Dongju was still laying on the couch. Keonhee and Geonhak seemed to be in the bedroom, and Hwanwoong was the last one to wash up.

Feeling a bit worn out, Youngjo sat down on the couch, leaving Dongju no other choice than to readjust his position and pulled out his mobile. He watched some videos and looked around their social media, not really doing anything. It felt a bit like he was wasting time. They would eat soon, so there was no point in going to the studio now. He also wasn't in the right mood to concentrate on creating new beats or lyrics, but he still felt like he should spend time doing something useful.

The fact that there was nothing he could do or wanted to do, made Youngjo feel restless and with a sigh he let himself lean back against the couch.

“Ah Hyung! You made me lose the game!”

Youngjo rolled his eyes at Dongju's protests. While leaning back, he had forgotten that their maknae was still laying behind him. Dongju's legs were now locked between Youngjo's back and the couch, which seemed to have taken the younger by surprise while playing on his mobile.  
  


The glare Dongju was sending him, amused the older, and he couldn't help but tease him.  
  
“Your hyung just sighed loudly, and all you can think about is your game? I'm speechless,” said Youngjo and rolled his eyes dramatically while leaning back further, shifting his weight, so he was leaning with his arm on Dongju's thigh. He laid his head onto his arm and looked at Dongju with sad eyes and a pout, giving his all to look miserable. By the way, Dongju's expression changed and how he leaned further into the couch, trying to get more distance between their faces, Youngjo could tell the younger was obviously disturbed by him acting cute and the sudden proximity.

“How am I at fault for you being old and dramatic?,” challenged Dongju, the judging look changing into a playful glare, while a smirk creeps onto his lips.

Youngjo gasped with an obviously faked anger and an overly dramatic expression.

“What does my age have to do with this? And I'm not old!"

“Hyung! Stop it!”

Youngjo had started tickling Dongju. The maknae was trying to catch his hands while shrieking in laughter. The younger looked adorable, and Youngjo felt himself smiling when Dongju's voice jumped a pitch between the laughter purring out of him. He felt merciful and let Dongju easily catch his hands, his smile growing at the sight of Dongju trying to send him a glare. The younger man was still busy catching his breath, and his hair became tousles from moving around so much, making him look anything but intimidating.

After their play-fight was over, the two men settled back on resting on the couch in silence. Dongju was now sitting right next to him with his knees pulled close to his chest. He had opened the jacket again and had pulled the wide shirt over his knees. Youngjo couldn't figure out why Dongju did that with his clothes sometimes, but he had already accepted it as a habit of the younger. Dongju should just keep watch to prevent Geonhak from seeing him wearing his shirt out like that. Youngjo knew from experience that the other rapper wouldn't be amused.

The vibration of his mobile let him slip out of his thoughts and back to reality. Their manager had sent him a message that he would probably return late in the night or tomorrow morning. Youngjo decided to tell the other members about the message when they would be eating together.

He glanced at the clock.

They had been home for two hours now. It was time for Seoho to wake up soon.

They had all agreed to eat together, but Youngjo felt like he couldn't wait for that much longer. He looked down onto the clock on his mobile again before deciding that they should wake Seoho in half an hour. It wouldn't be good for him to eat too late anyway.

With that in mind, Youngjo leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes. When his stomach started protesting in demand of food, Youngjo let out a deep sigh.

“Hungry?”

  
  
Youngjo opened his eyes two see Hwanwoong standing in front of him. The younger was wearing a little grin that made Youngjo feel giddy inside. He closed his eyes but patted the free place next to him, signalling Hwanwoong to sit down. The scent of shampoo tickled his nose as Hwanwoong plopped down on the couch.

  
  
Youngjo wasn't sure what Hwanwoong was doing next to him as the younger man kept shifting, but the brushing of Hwanwoong's arm against his own made him forget his hunger for a moment. When Hwanwoong's arm kept leaning against him for a few moments, Youngjo thought the other had actually leaned against him.

  
  
He waited for a while, but the contact against his arm stayed, and the sudden wish of Hwanwoong leaning his head on his shoulder took over. How nice it would be to have Hwanwoong closer to him. Close enough that it would only take a turn of his head to bury his face in the soft light silver-blond colored locks. Close enough to breath in his scent and to feel his warmth. Close enough to maybe pull an arm around the delicate but confident shoulders and just enjoy the moment of having the short man next to him. These kind of thoughts were circulating inside his mind for a while, but nothing happened.

His wishful thinking turned into nothing when the weight against him pulled away all of sudden, leaving his arm feeling cold from the sudden lack of warmth.

This time Youngjo did open an eye to see what was actually going on right next to him, only to watch Hwanwoong nestling against Dongju's side. Dongju seemed not bothered by his small Hyung leaning against him in the slightest. The older of the two was resting his chin on the younger man's shoulder to look on Dongju's mobile.

  
  
Something inside Youngjo's chest tightened, and he knew it wasn't jealousy for the maknae, but more something he would describe as a disappointment. Trying not to look too hurt by the rejection he only knew of, the raven-haired man crossed his arms over his chest and let out a small sigh.

When the hunger made itself known again, in the form of growling from the depths of Youngjo's stomach, he frowned. Another glance at the clock made him furrow his brows. Only a few minutes had passed since he had last looked on his mobile.

  
He was seriously growing inpatient.

Youngjo was about to set an end to the waiting. He was not in the mood to leave the spot on the couch and to just move in general, but the hunger was too much at this point.

Just before he was motivating himself enough to stand up, the door to the bedroom opened.

“I'm going to wake Hyung now.”

Youngjo cracked one eye open. Geonhak was walking past them in the direction of their manager's room, where Seoho was resting at.

“We should start heating the food up. You can keep sitting Youngjo-hyung, Keonhee and I can manage to heat it up.”

Hwanwoong stood up and stretched before he made his way over to their room to get Keonhee. After a few moments, the two 98 Liner came out of the room, talking to each other while stepping into the small kitchen. The two started unpacking the food, and soon the clattering of plates and chopsticks could be heard around their little kitchen. As much as Youngjo would have liked to just stay seated, he knew that he should be at least a little productive too.

  
  
“Dongju-ah, come help me set up the table.”

He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder who was slumping down over the arm rest of the couch; a position Youngjo wouldn't necessarily call comfortable and shook him lightly to get his attention. The glare he received in return told him without words being necessary that Dongju was not in the mood to get up at the moment.

“I don't want to. I already cleaned up, Hyung.”

The pout and the way Dongju whined was doing Youngjo no good. He was weak against cute things, and Dongju was well aware of it. He chuckled and took Dongju's hand, wanting to pull him up but the latter didn't move an inch as Youngjo tugged his hand to urge him to move.

“Dongju-ah, come on.”

He lightly pulled at Dongju's hand again, but Dongju only shifted so much that his head was laying on the arm rest. He kept looking up at Youngjo with a pleading expression.

"I'm too tired hyung. Do it on your own,” Dongju whined while trying to tug his hand out of his Hyung's grasp

“Aww come on, get up.” Youngjo shook Dongju's arm gently and earned some grumbling about working too much as a maknae on a daily basis. Youngjo only rolled his eyes, a soft smile still playing on his lips. If it were one of the younger members or Geonhak bothering Dongju, the maknae would have already pushed him away or try to pinch them, but he wasn't like that towards Seoho and him. Youngjo wasn't sure if it was because of the larger age difference between them—that didn't hinder Dongju in getting whiny and be a little commanding and cheeky, but still being gentle even if he was bothered by them. “Dongjuu~”

  
  
Youngjo chuckled as Dongju send him a judging glance for changing his tone of voice, mimicking Dongju's whining from earlier, but with the expectation of making it sound a bit more high-pitched and cuter than the maknae, clearly a mockery against the younger.

“Whoa. That was disgusting.”

“See that? I have goosebumps! That was seriously weird.”

Youngjo raised both eyebrows and turned to look at Keonhee, who quickly grabbed Hwanwoong to hide behind the smaller man, but not looking sorry at all. Hwanwoong, on the other hand, lowered his arm he had just shown to Keonhee and openly laughed at Youngjo's expression.

“Sorry Hyung, but you really should improve your aegyo,” said Hwanwoong while turning back to the pot with the boiling noodles and lowered the heat to prevent from overcooking them.

” At this point, Geonhakie-hyung's aegyo is better than yours,” he continued.

“Geonhak-hyung's aegyo isn't that bad tho.”

Even Dongju's head went up at the comment and various expression were directed in Keonhee's direction. To give the tall and lanky main-vocal credit, he didn't shrink under the with a mix of curiosity, bewilderment and judging filled stares. Instead, he just stared back at them, with his eyes widened in surprise, as if he couldn't believe that his opinion was met with so much opposition.

  
  
“Why are you looking at me like that? That's just my honest opinion?!”

Everyone turned back from Keonhee, Hwanwoong even shaking his head in fake disappointment, which earned him an offended sounding “Yah” from Keonhee and a slap on the shoulder. Hwanwoong then took the with sauce dripping spoon he used to stir the noodles and held it threateningly in his friend's direction. Keonhee quickly pulled his black cardigan over the white long shirt he wore underneath and stepped back, one hand held upwards as a sign of surrender.

Youngjo turned back from the mess unfolding in the kitchen and rolled his eyes when he noticed that Dongju had laid down and closed his eyes again. He nudged Dongju's arm that was hanging over the couch with his knee in a last attempt to make him stand up.

“I'm sleeping.”

Well, at least he had tried to get the younger to help him. He wouldn't let him be like that without a small revenge though. He bent down a bit and planted a quick peck on Dongju's check.

“Ahh! Hyung, seriously! This is too much!”

Youngjo chuckled after successfully annoying the other and stepped back. He ignored the “eww” and laughter he heard from the witnesses in the kitchen. Youngjo smiled at how Dongju rubbed his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket before sending him another judging glare.

The younger sat up and stomped past him to get the small table they used to set up in front of the couch. Youngjo could hear him muttering some inaudible things, probably cursing him under his breath.

“Do you want something to drink?”

Geonhak's voice was making him look up from his task.

He was currently taking chopsticks out of the plastic bags and about to place them on the table when the deep and familiar voice of the other rapper filled the room.

“Yes.”

“Should I make tea?“

“Hmm.”

Youngjo turned around at the sound of main-vocals voice. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise at the sight of Seoho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And? How did you like ONEWE's cameo? We need more WEUS content srl... Pls tell me what you think about this chapter and if there was anything that stood out to you or you liked the most. Have a nice week/day and be safe and healthy~


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